The Selected
by cheddarpenguin
Summary: Astrid is a poor girl, working long days just to put food on the table. Hiccup is a prince living in his older brother's shadow. Their paths cross when Astrid is thrown into the Selection, a competition to win the heir, Prince Eret's, heart. Forming an odd friendship based on their hatred of Eret and the palace, she discovers her world isn't as simple as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:**

 *** Loosely based off the Selection series by Kiera Cass ***

 **As a Seven in the caste system, Astrid Hofferson is very poor. When an opportunity to earn some money pops up, she applies for the Selection, a competition against 34 other girls for the hand of Prince Eret. In a whirl of events, Astrid is chosen and is whisked from her run-down shack to the glistening palace across the country.**

 **When Astrid meets the prince, she hates him. She hates Eret, she hates the gowns and makeup, the huge buffets and curtsying. But she meets a boy her age, who also hates Eret. But she finds out he's another prince, Eret's younger brother, Hiccup. Astrid and Hiccup develop an odd friendship, each other being the only company they enjoy in the castle. More trouble starts to arise as Eret takes a liking to Astrid, but at the same time, Hiccup and Astrid grow closer.**

 **The longer she stays at the castle, she's thrown into a world full of battles, rebellion, and creatures she had no idea existed. As she chooses a side to fight for, she risks everything for justice.**

 **A royal amount of trouble is going to go down.**

* * *

 **Hi, and welcome to my new story! The plot isn't based off of the Selected series, you'll see as the chapters go on. It uses the universe and dystopia feel, though!**

 **Expect lots of twists and turns that aren't included in the books! It's a bit of a wild ride here and everyone just kinda needs a hug.**

 **If you want to learn more about the Selection universe/plot, visit their Wikia!**

 **I don't own HTTYD or** _ **The Selection.**_ **Most of the plot is mine, plus a few minor OC's sprinkled throughout.**

* * *

The thick, cream-colored paper felt heavy in my hands. The pressure of my family looking at me felt like big weights resting on my shoulders. I tried not to notice their eyes boring into my every pore as I scanned the words printed in the expensive ink. My eyes were dizzy from trying to read so much at once, I had to grip the table for support.

It was so hard to focus when there were so many words. I tried to fix my gaze on one line, but I couldn't. I held my finger to the line, trying to grasp any information on the parchment. One part caught my eye, and I read aloud. "'The families of the Selected participants will receive a generous amount of money for every week their candidate remains in the running of the competition.' A generous amount of money, huh?" That seemed to be the only appealing part of this application.

My mother and father shared a glance, and then both looked back to me. Being Sevens and having four kids to feed and clothe meant life was hard a generous sum was definitely tempting and something to hope for.

"This is your decision, Astrid," Dad told me softly. "We're not forcing you into anything. But if there's a chance, even as slim as a this, that you can have a better life, I believe you should take it." His gaze told me he was telling the truth. I knew he wanted me to do it.

"I'm fine with my life," I said sharply. It wasn't a _complete_ lie, I did enjoy working and getting my hands dirty with my tools. I liked to fix things, which I was starting to do for a living. Fixing cars for the upper castes, fixing pipes and appliances. It was hard work for little money, which was the not-so-great part about this life.

Being a family of Sevens, we were pretty much the lowest caste without being homeless. We made next to no money, lived in a cruddy shack, never had enough food, and practically wore rags for clothing. It was miserable, but that didn't mean I wanted a life full of billowing dresses, marble floors, and glass slippers. I liked work, so the Selection wasn't very appealing to me. I didn't want to compete with thirty-four other girls for the affections of a guy I didn't know, or like so far.

We had dead-end jobs with a house that was barely standing. We were miserable, but it wasn't as if we could do anything about it. That's the way Berk's caste system worked, put in place _many_ years ago by the King. It was very beneficial for the people who were Ones, Twos, and Threes, but anyone below that was pretty much screwed. You were assigned your caste by birth, whatever your parents were.

The only way you could move up was if you married a man who was of a higher caste. It was incredibly sexist, and I hated it, because if you had a woman who was a Four, and a man who was a Six who wanted to marry, they'd both become Sixes. If the roles were switched, however, they'd both be Fours. Welcome to Berk.

For the past eighteen years, I was able to prepare myself mentally and physically for my life ahead of me. A life of low-incomes, hunger, and misery. I cried a lot when I was younger, but it seemed I had run out of tears. Keep your gaze forward, work as hard as you can, make the most of this shitty life. Life motto.

"This is no life!" Dad said angrily. "We're on the brink of starvation! We're struggling to pay our bills, and now we have to raise more children!"

I agreed with him, but I didn't want to admit so.

Originally, I had one brother, two years younger, named Gustav. We didn't look much alike, aside from our eyes were both blue. But about four months ago, my mother saw a set of twins in a soaked-through cardboard box in an alleyway, most likely left by an Eight. They are now being raised by us, as my brothers. But they're demanding infants, and hard to keep happy.

"Astrid, at least apply. The chances of you being picked are next to zero, but we need some hope in this household," Mom urged. The pleading in her expression was obvious. I hated it when she guilted me into things, and it made me want to apply even less, if that was even possible.

I looked at them both for a long time. I didn't want to go to the king's palace, I didn't want to meet Prince Eret, I didn't want to be a princess. But if it helped my family, I didn't care. I would do anything for them.

I wrote my name. I wrote my age. I wrote my caste. I wrote my profession. I listed my education. I wrote my special talents, which didn't include much. I knew how to fix things, and I used to play the flute for fun. I liked to write, short stories were my forte. I could also speak basic Latin, in which I learned from an old, torn up book I found in a dumpster.

I filled it out quickly, before I had the chance to change my mind. If I had to go through the torture in the palace for my family to actually have enough food, it would be more than worth it.

"They take pictures tomorrow, I'd say that's when you take your lunch break," Mom suggested. I just nodded. I went into my brothers' and my room, and I curled up under the covers. There was no turning back now.

* * *

My day at work was the same as any other day. I fixed a car. I tweaked someone's sink, and tinkered with some pipes. I fixed a stove right after that in a Four's house, and when I saw their daughter dressing up and fixing her hair, most likely for her picture, they looked at me sympathetically in my oil and dirt-covered face and torn tunic. They tipped me a little, in which I thanked them repeatedly for.

At my lunch break, I rushed home, and put on my least-torn brown tunic. I tried to scrub the dirt and grime off my face, but some of it wouldn't budge. I had to go to work immediately afterward, so I had to keep my toolbelt with me. I still very much looked like a mess, but I didn't look _as messy_ as usual.

My mom came home from work, her face also dirty and sweaty from gardening all day. She was, obviously, a gardener, Dad and I were repairmen (well, I was a repair _woman_ ) and Gustav was a farm hand. We all had low-paying jobs that Sevens have. I liked to fix things, but I admitted, I would rather be a policeman or a doctor. Or, like my lifelong dream, to be able to join the army.

Mom and I walked to the city hall, in our town in the province Dakota. Girls were lined up outside, wearing fine jewelry and their nicest clothes. Nicest clothes for Twos included dazzling dresses and shining rhinestones, while Fives had simple sweaters and Sixes and Sevens were either in a plain tunic or their work clothes.

I redid my blond braid, trying to make it look somewhat nicer than it did, and brushed my bangs and tucked them behind my ear. I wanted to shrivel up and hide with some of the looks that people were giving us. A girl, obviously a Two, was in a short, blue dress covered completely in sparkles gave me a mean face. Her face had so much makeup on, her face color was three shades darker than her neck color. I just narrowed my eyes at her. I wouldn't let her get into my head. I wasn't worth any less than her, just because of my caste.

When we got closer to the doors, and there were lots of people behind us, I heard a child's shriek. I whipped around, trying to see the source of the screaming. A girl in a sundress and dark hair was trying to calm a smaller child, probably around three years old. The little girl was crying over a doll whose arm fell off onto the ground. The child picked the arm up and tried to attack it, but to no avail.

Neither the little girl's sister or mother could calm her. The child was yelling and crying and screaming, causing some people to plug their ears in annoyance. Nobody was helping the girl, and I felt bad. I felt the screwdriver on my toolbelt, and I thought; what if I could fix the doll?

I left Mom to our place in line, and I skirted toward the little girl. She was still sobbing and the plastic arm of the doll was on the ground. I kneeled down next to her, so I could talk to her eye-to-eye. I picked up the arm and tried to calm her.

"Shhh... shhh.. hey, hey!" I coaxed. "Hi!" The girl stopped wailing, but the tears still riveted down her cheeks as she wiped her eyes and looked at me. I kept talking. "Hi, I'm Astrid. What's your name?" I wasn't very good with kids, but if I could help this one out, it would make my day infinitely better.

The little girl sniffed. "Ruby," she said. She had big, brown eyes and dark skin. I thought she was one of the most adorable little girls ever, looking at me with her sad gaze.

"Hi Ruby, see my tool belt here?" I asked in a tone I reserved for children only. Ruby nodded. "I might be able to fix your doll with my screwdriver here." I hoped. I didn't know what to connect and to where I would connect it, but I had to try. I prayed that there was a way I _could_ fix it, I didn't want to lead the girl on and not be able to actually fix it.

I picked up the arm and the small silver screw that I almost didn't notice next to it. I showed Ruby the screwdriver and the arm. She gave me the doll, I put the arm back in place and screwed it into place. I wiggled the arm a little, moving the plastic around to see if it would fall out at all. When it didn't, I handed the doll back to her. A grin spread from ear-to-ear.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you!" Ruby cried, hugging her doll. I just smiled and put my screwdriver back. When I stood, I remembered her sister and mother.

They looked at me with awe, and also gratefulness. I nodded to them, but the girl in the dress tugged at my sleeve. "Wait!"

I turned, meeting her dark eyes that looked so much like Ruby's. I raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what she wanted.

"Thank you. When she has fits like that, hardly anything can calm her down," she told me. "Here, I can give this to you as payment." She started fumbling through the small bag at her side but I waved it off.

"No, no, I refuse to be paid," I said. "I just fixed a doll, it's no big deal, really."

The girl wouldn't listen and kept digging through her purse until she pulled out a small plastic bag. Delighted that she found it, she opened the bag and handed one of it's white, square contents to me.

"Clean your face," she ordered, handing me the wipe. I wasn't expecting this "payment". I cautiously took the wipe and looked at it, then started to clean my face with it. Brown dirt and oil made themselves prominent and visible on the white cloth, and within a minute my face and neck were clear of the grime.

"Thank you," I said, and to my surprise, she took the dirty wipe and put it in her bag. I wondered if she had any special things in that little purse that the wipe would have ruined from the filth.

"You're welcome," the girl said. She thrust out her hand in front of me with a greeting. "I'm Jade, Five."

I looked at her hand, and then back at mine. Though she was a lower caste, she wore a simple dress that must've been quite expensive. Her hands were clean, and mine were not. I didn't want to mess up her clean hands with the filth on mine.

But Jade insisted, and practically grabbed my hand from my side and shook it firmly.

"Astrid, Seven," I mumbled the last part, but I still earned a sympathetic look. I hated that look. I didn't need sympathy. I didn't want pity from anyone, because I was a fighter. I hated how people thought my low caste number defined my worth as a person. I _hated_ it.

"Well, good luck!" Jade said. "Smile big." The girl was so optimistic, there seemed to be beams of light shining from her chocolate skin. I couldn't help but smile also.

"You as well," I responded. "Thanks for the wipe." And with that, I returned to my place next to my mother in line. My spirits were somewhat lifted from the incident, it was a nice feeling to fix a little girl's day.

This feeling kept with me into the building, and when I saw Ruby hugging and dancing with her plastic doll, it made another grin come onto my face. I don't recall ever making someone that happy, ever. So when the man taking the photos called me to take my picture, my smile was genuine and big. Ruby had made my day.

"I haven't seen that smile in years," Mom commented as we walked down the steps, back into the cool breeze. "It's nice."

My mother sang all week.

She hummed while she cooked a small pot of stew, she whistled while she planted, and she sang while she weeded gardens. Her eyes had the bright blue twinkle in them, the one that means she's happy, in which I hadn't seen in quite a few years.

She was hopeful. I was not. But I wanted her to keep that way. She was tipped more by her clients because of the optimism, and she bought us some juice. Gustav had to restrain himself to not chug the entire jug down.

Eventually, the day came. All too soon. It was the day that the Selected would be announced. I wasn't excited or nervous, like Mom. I wasn't cheerful and _could_ wait to gather around our library's television. I didn't want her hope to be gone when I didn't get it. To me, there was just _no chance_ of me being Selected. It was me in a pool of _all_ the other girls in Dakota. My mother was too hopeful, and I was going to be sad when they didn't call my name.

My boss, the Three that runs the shop and employs us mechanics and repairmen, was usually a stone-cold man with little emotion on his face. He didn't like us Sixes and Sevens, he usually preferred not to interact with us. But he might have noticed my sadder expression, hence why he came over to me fixing a golf cart engine.

"Miss Hofferson?" he said while holding a clipboard. "Everything alright? I sure do hope that sour face is not affecting your work."

"No, sir," I said. "I just don't want to upset my family."

"I don't think you could ever do that, Miss Hofferson." He walked away with that, and I admit, it made me feel a little bit better. My anxiety still kept me from feeling happy about the upcoming night. In fact, I wanted to vomit from just thinking about it. I tried not to imagine tears in my mom's eyes or the creases of wrinkles in my father's face from disappointment.

These images haunted me, even until we gathered around the public television.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! There was an overwhelming amount of support so quickly for the first chapter that I was _not_ expecting, I decided to quickly upload the next shorter one! **

**I'm new to this website, so if you want to see some of my other earlier works, check out my Wattpad: theToxicFangirl**

 **I will update this story every Wednesday from now on!**

What happened next was a blur of events I could hardly remember.

My family headed to the library the evening of Selection broadcast to watch it on the televisions there. We huddled around one screen, Mom clutching the twins and Gustav and Dad sandwiching me in between them.

The pair of announcers that broadcasted the royal news, nicknamed Bucket and Mulch, were on the set. They named off girls one by one, showing their picture and description, and the royal family's reaction. I couldn't bring myself to look at Prince Eret, I didn't want to. I didn't want to ever have to see his face.

Bucket and Mulch listed the girls by provinces in alphabetical order, so Dakota was close to the beginning. My mind was focused on feeling sad for being disappointed for my hopeful family, I almost didn't catch the announcement.

"And for Dakota!" Mulch cheered, his fat face colored red and looking jolly. It reminded me somewhat of Ruby, the little girl I met in line. That brought my thoughts to Jade, her sister. She was nice. I wanted her to win. I wanted Jade to have a wealthy, jewel-filled future. The one act of kindness she gave me had me thinking she was going to be a great queen.

"We have, oh my, an eighteen-year-old _Seven,_ Astrid Hofferson!"

Wait.

My mind blanked. I barely registered the big smile that was, sure enough, _mine,_ on _national television,_ in front of the _royal family_ and the _entire country._ I didn't see the royal family's reaction to me. I couldn't see at all.

I had been Selected.

My mother screamed, and the twins cried. My father gasped and shook me, and Gustav exploded, jumping over tables and knocking down chairs. The two librarians, old ladies with gray hair and thin glasses, looked over to see what was causing all of the ruckus. I guess they saw me, and my matching picture on the screen, because their eyes widened to the size of the moon.

My family crushed me in hugs. I was still wearing my tool belt, so my screwdriver and hammer were jabbing into my sides. Mom was sobbing, Dad was praying. Gustav was cheering, the twins were screeching. I wasn't happy; I didn't _want_ this.

"It's her! She's the Selected!" the librarians gasped. People, mostly other Sixes and Sevens that were watching the other televisions, were confused until they saw me. People started crowding around me, cheering and crying and whooping and yelling.

Oh no.

The first ever Seven to be Selected. The poor mechanic girl with a messy blond braid and a greasy face. The girl in the tattered tunic and toolbelt. I was congratulated nonstop wherever I went. Lower castes were the happiest for me, whilst upper castes despised me. I knew they thought that their daughters deserved being picked. I found it was almost unsafe to walk to work, because I'd be attacked by a mob of either fans or haters. I stayed home.

Our shack was always occupied. Shiny, expensive looking cars pulled up and people in crisp suits would enter and ask me questions. I couldn't register what was happening most of the time. I often would pinch my arm, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted the twins to stop screaming at the strangers coming in. I wanted people to stop calling Mom, making her cry over and over. I wanted Gustav to shut up about his farm friends and how they said they always had crushes on me. I wanted it to stop.

A man, looking a bit more casual compared to some other people that would come in, came in with a purple folder with the Berk crest on it. Straight from the castle. Mom called me out of the bedroom to the main room, and ushered the boys in the house to the bedroom.

"Hello Mrs. and Miss Hofferson," greeted the main with dark, wavy hair that touched his shoulders. He wore circular glasses that made his dark eyes look less tiny, making his face have a strange look to it.. "I am Manord, and I will be delivering your last instructions to you.

"Miss Hofferson," he said, turning to me. "You have been Selected. You cannot back out of this, or let someone else take your place. Doing so would be a sign of rebellion, which is treason."

I shuddered. That was harsh. The government only had one punishment for treason- death. It scared me a little that I had been always thinking about finding Jade and giving my Selected spot to her. But I always remembered the money that would come with it, and I knew I had to do this for my family.

"As a Selected," Manord continued. "You have been promoted in your caste. You are now a Three."

I choked. A _Three?_ All my life, I lived in poverty, hoping one day I might be able to make enough to have a sufficient amount of food on the table. I had prepared myself for a life of misery as a Seven. But a Three…

"Your family are still Sevens, only you are promoted," Manord said. "But you do get checks for each week you stay at the castle. I am also here to deliver your first payment." He opened the purple folder and pulled out a fancy-looking envelope. Again, right from the castle.

When Mom opened it, she about fainted. I peered over. It was at least six months' wages, all four of us combined. This, along with their constant work and me being at the castle, at least one week, would provide food for us for a long, long time. I wanted to cry, this was so much.

"You will wear this tomorrow, your choice of shoes." Manord handed me a black bag that obviously had clothes in it. He listed off some basic rules, like no assaulting other Selected, no leaving the castle, et cetera, but I couldn't hear. My eyes stared blankly at him and I nodded every once in awhile. It was so overwhelming.

Manord talked to Mom for a little bit, and she listened to him intently, having to wipe away her tears every so often. I stared into space, having to digest the fact that I won't see Mom every day. I wouldn't see Gustav, Dad, or the twins. I worried about missing their first steps.

I didn't want to miss my family, and I wanted to work to improve their lives for the better. I decided, after some weeks of collecting money for my family, I would do my best to get the prince to hate me so he would send me home as quickly as possible.

I packed my torn sneakers. I packed a photo of my family. I packed a notepad. Three items I was allowed to take in my bag.

I put on my work boots, the only pair of shoes I had except for my old running shoes, which looked quite disgusting compared to the nice black pants and white shirt we had to wear. I washed my face in a tub of warm water and I redid my thick braid.

I walked out of the bedroom to meet my awaiting family. I already cried my tears, I wouldn't shed any in front of them. I held them close, not saying any words. Mom had to break from the hug when one of the twins started crying. Gustav knew the drill; he started preparing a bottle in the kitchen area.

Dad wouldn't let me go. I knew. I was his little girl. The one who worked by his side forever. The one who made him proud. The one who was now a Three. He looked at me with a big smile.

"You look lovely. Now go woo that prince," he told me. I gave him a weak grin. I wasn't going to woo anyone, but I pledged to myself to make him proud.

A car picked me up with a driver that didn't speak. The drive lasted almost an hour, till I saw big planes soar through the sky. I watched them out the window in awe. In our town, planes didn't fly over very often, for we lived far from major cities.

The driver opened my door and handed me my bag. I took it and slung it over my shoulder. He led me over to another man in a black suit and sunglasses. The driver left me with this guard, and the guard escorted me through the airport.

People screamed when they saw me. Some held colorful signs. The guard had to push them away. They yelled my name, "Astrid!" they hollered. So many strangers from all castes knowing my name. Some flowers and candy were thrown my way. I gave my "fans" a smile, and I touched their outstretched hands. They took pictures and videos, something I had never imagined someone would be doing to _me._

We boarded a plane, with plush seats and televisions on the back of the seats. I wasn't the only one on the plane, but there were few people. They all looked important in their posh clothing and gleaming briefcases. They shook my hand when I walked past. Even some of these important-looking people wanted my autograph.

The plane ride lasted around two to three hours, and I watched the world pass by below clouds out the window. It was a little nerve wracking- I had never been on a plane before. I took a pack of crackers from the flight attendants, but nothing else. I didn't have much of an appetite, even though I had barely eaten that day.

I felt like I finally was able to think, and so I let my thoughts consume my conscious mind. The more I thought, the more I realized. I realized my life would never be the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**The amount of support this is getting is overwhelming! Thank you all so much! I was only expecting like, 5 follows!**

 **Review responses:**

 **Hey- Yes, Hiccup is hotter! Astrid doesn't like Eret. But the thing is, most of the people in this universe don't know Hiccup exists. All the Selected girls don't know he's a prince, so their attention is on Eret. And I won't be considering Hiccup a "loser" in this, but Eret will be pretty rude in this story. So yes, Astrid will definitely be comparing them, but most of the others won't because they don't know Hiccup is there.**

 **Guest- In this society, there is a caste system where your occupation is determined on your number. Ones are the highest, Eights are the homeless/poorest. Astrid is a Seven, so she's a poor laborer.**

I was rushed through gates in a luxurious car after our flight landed. There were people yelling my name and holding signs in the airport, and I wanted to say hello, but the escorts kept pushing me. I only was able to make eye contact and brush their hands when they held them out.

I was shoved in a car with a redhead from Belcourt named Anna. Her blue-green eyes were filled with wonder and excitement, and her energy and peppiness reminded me of a squirrel. She chatted nonstop, nonsense words spilling out of her mouth. I found it amusing, rather than annoying.

I hardly had to marvel at the huge palace looming over the city in Angeles. It was beautiful, it looked like it was plucked right out of a fairy tale. The fantasy castle a few miles away from the modern skyscrapers and hustle of a normal city.

Through large gates and cobblestone paths we drove until we saw people crowded in a garden area, with dresses laying around and many mirrors mirrors lined up in a square around the hedges. They were all girls, some wearing fancy dresses, some wearing the white shirt and black pants, some wearing plain black dresses and white aprons.

As soon as the car door opened, ladies, whom I assumed were maids from previous instructions given to me, took my arms and brought me to the grounds. When I stepped onto the ground, even the grass and dirt felt expensive. The air was clean and fresh, with the songs of birds filling the air.

I didn't even have a chance to speak to the maids before I was whisked to a room where I was stripped bare and plopped in a tub of warm water, and scrubbed thoroughly until every fleck of dirt had left my skin. I had never been that clean in my life, and I didn't know how to make of my unusually softer skin.

The maids looked at me with somewhat piteous looks, when they saw my torso and the ribs poking out of my skin. It's what hunger did to me, leaving me with barely anything on my upper half but skin and bones. I still didn't want their looks

They waxed my legs painfully. I could practically feel every hair ripping out from my limbs. They plucked my eyebrows, which emitted multiple hisses from me. They washed and trimmed my hair, to only rid of the split ends. I was slipped in a silky, cream colored dress which was probably the same cost of my home. My feet were shoved into matching heels, which cramped my toes and rubbed my ankles uncomfortably. When they started powdering my face, I found my voice, and requested for them to ease up on the makeup.

"I prefer to be more natural," I said. The truth was, I had never really worn makeup before, it being something I would have never thought about having in my life. I was nervous to see how my face would look with makeup.

The maids complied, and compared to the other girls, my face was naked. My lashes were coated with mascara and a nearly invisible shade of eyeshadow was on my lids, paired with a pale pink lip color, I still looked quite different than I usually did. I ended up staring in the mirror for a while, unsure to make of myself. I never really thought of myself as pretty, but I did think I looked better than I usually did on that day.

I hobbled over back to the gardens, and waited in line. My hair was in a braid, which I preferred most, but it had smaller, intricate weaves around the crown of my head. Everyone wore similar dresses, with simple form-fitting torsos and delicate skirts that kissed the ground with the fabric. When Anna approached, her dress was an aqua teal color that matched her eyes. The sleeveless dress made sure to reveal all the freckles on her shoulders and neck.

After we took pictures for the national news channel that was broadcasting the Selection, we were paraded into the castle, through huge white columns and shining staircases. We were escorted through a set of gigantic doors into a massive hallway with huge paintings and stained glass windows, depicting scenes of what I guessed to have happened many years ago. It was very bright, with many windows and walls that seemed to glow.

Girls were fluffing their skirts and twirling their hair, trying to make the best of their appearances. I felt very plain compared to them, but I was okay with that. I didn't want to cake my face with makeup or wear a seventy-pound dress. I was determined to stay myself.

A woman in a shining silver suit strutted in front of the string of the Selected. Her black heels clicked loudly on the glassy floor. Her hair was blond and cropped close to her ears, and and she wore glasses with large, dark frames.

"Hello, ladies, I am Lydia. I will be your supervisor for your stay here in the royal castle." Her smile tried to look sweet but I knew it was fake, I could see right through it as if it were a pane of glass.

"Now, you will not be meeting the royals today," Lydia said. "You will settle into your rooms and meet your maids. Each of you as three maids and an identical room, though you may request specific decor.

"You will be meeting the royal family tomorrow, Prince Eret, King Stoick, and Queen Valka. In the presence of the royal family, the king and queen are to be addressed as 'Your Majesty'. The princes are to be addressed as 'Your Highness'. You will also curtsy when you approach and leave their company. This goes for everyone at all times."

Did she say princes? I thought. With an 's'? I didn't know the king and queen had multiple children. Then again, I didn't have a TV or read newspapers, so I wouldn't know.

I had a maid scurry me up two flights of stairs to the third floor, where the guest floor was. The sheer size of the hallways had me amazed, along with expensive and beautifully detailed statues that were next to pots and vases that were worth probably more than my life. The palace was so big, there were plenty of rooms for all the Selected, plus more guests if they happened to stop by.

The maid opened a door at the end of the hall, and I was awestruck. My ripped leather bag sat lamely at the foot of a king-sized bed with extravagant bedding under a window with matching posh curtains. There was a white desk against a wall, with a typewriter along with several pencils, pens, and sheets of paper. They knew I loved to write.

Three girls, no older than their twenties, rushed over as soon as I stepped in. They bent deep into a curtsy, beaming with their cleaning supplies in hand.

"Hello, Lady Astrid," greeted the first maid. "We are your maids. I am Jane, this is Tina Bell and Dory." Jane had a bright blue gaze and a funny accent. Tina Bell was short and had a big blond bun underneath her maid's cap. Dory was tall with dark hair and looked very hyper.

"Hi," I said. I didn't really know what to say to them. I had always been doing the work for everyone else for years, this was such a big change of pace.

"I think you're really, really, really inspiring!" piped Dory. "A Seven in a Selection! Never heard of!"

"Lowest I've seen is a Five," added Tina Bell shyly.

I made no comment toward this. What did they want me to say? I simply nodded, trying a tiny fake smile on my lips.

"Anyway," Jane said. "We're here to help you with anything you need. We clean your room, draw your bath, fetch you anything, sew your dresses, just call us and you get anything."

"Thank you, very much," I said gratefully. "But would you mind if I had a moment to myself?" Without a word, the maids curtsied to me and were out of the room in a quick flurry.

It was so overwhelming. Being dressed in pretty gowns, being called a "lady", being curtsied and bowed to, everything. The plush bed, the fancy room much bigger than my house. This felt like a dream. Not that it was positive, but the fact it wasn't real. I still felt like I'd wake up the next morning in a cramped, creaky bed next to my brother and have to lace on my muddy boots to go tweak some machinery.

But I wasn't. It almost made me sad, but when I remembered the check that they handed Mom, the fact I knew that there would be plenty of food on the table for the next year, made me happy. But I still needed to get out, I wanted nature, I needed to smell the trees instead of the choking scent of perfume always in the air with those girls. I wanted a scent I knew, a scent that would bring me close to home.

I found a different pair of black pants and a simple, flowy shirt to wear instead of my itchy cream dress. I washed the makeup off of my face and I slipped into the simplest shoes I could find; which were just plain flats. I did this all quickly, for I was starting to feel claustrophobic in the huge bedroom.

I pushed open my doors, looking down the halls. I jogged my way down the stairs and headed for the doors that led outside. I just needed to sit next to a tree. I needed to breath clean air, not air tainted by layers of scented candles and air fresheners and perfume.

I reached the doors, but two guards blocked me. I tried to plead my way through, but they wouldn't let me through. But I was desperate. I started to walk away, so they'd resume their positions on either side of the doorway. I turned and I bolted. I launched myself between them, knocking into the doors and creaking them open. I grasped a hold the end of the first step, but the guards tackled me and tried to pull me away. Grunts turned to yells and shouts. They yanked me away from the little patch of freedom. A guard held each arm, and I screamed and kicked them to get them off of me and let me go.

A young man, around my age, rushed in. He didn't look like a guard, or royalty, he wore only a simple black shirt and blue jeans. His eyes widened at the sight of the guards restraining me, and he ran over.

"What's this?" he demanded. "Set her down!"

The guards followed the teen's orders without hesitation. Who was this? Why did he have so much power?

My hair was tangled in my face, my cheeks red from the exerting struggle. I straightened my shirt and looked this kid in the eye.

"May I inquire as to why you were _manhandling_ this lady so?" said the young man in his nasal voice. His eyes were narrowed, and he looked somewhat threatening. I wasn't scared, though. I could only hope that I looked _more_ threatening.

"Your Highness, she was trying to escape into the garden," the guard to my left reported. _Your Highness?_ My thoughts ran wild. _This doesn't look like Prince Eret._

"If I may," I interjected. "I wasn't trying to escape." Three pairs of eyes were now on me. "I needed fresh air. All of this is really overwhelming."

"The Selected are not permitted to leave the castle without permission, and or accompaniment by the prince himself," the guard on my right said.

"Well, it doesn't specify which prince," said the teen. "Therefore, I order you to let me out to the gardens with the lady."

My mouth opened in surprise. Was he actually a prince? A direct descendant of King Stoick and Queen Valka? The heir to the throne?

The guards parted for the _prince_ to exit the castle. The auburn-haired young man turned to look at me, and extended his arm back. "Come, I'll accompany you to the gardens."

Hesitantly, I intertwined my arm with his. It didn't feel very right. If this was a prince, I forgot to curtsy. I forgot to address him as "Your Highness". His arms were lean and slightly muscular, pulling me down the stairs to the collection of bushes and trees down below.

When the prince let my arm go, I strode over to the nearest bench and plopped down, my hands in my face. I took several deep breaths, soaking in every drop of fresh air that my lungs could hold. I stayed in this position for a minute or so, until I recovered from my panicky outburst.

"Did they hurt you?" asked the prince. The sun was just about set, but from the little light left in the sky I could tell he had bright green eyes, like the rest of his family, that were filled with much concern.

"No, um, Your Highness," I said, treading lightly. I sincerely did hope that this was a prince, and that I didn't just call some random guy by a respectable title.

He chuckled. "Listen, I'm as sick of this royal stuff as you are. Just call me Hiccup."

"Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"I knew you weren't Eret," I breathed out in relief. I didn't want to meet that prince just yet. Or at all.

"Oh, no, that's my older brother," _Hiccup_ said. "I'm the younger prince that no one talks about."

"Oh, I'm… sorry?"

"No, I prefer it this way."

I raised an eyebrow. This… _Hiccup_ was an interesting character already. Usually, the royals soak up the spotlight like sponges. They don't dislike being the center of attention.

"Why the name Hiccup?" I asked, and decided to add on, "If I can ask."

"It's a nickname, because I was really tiny when I was born, and I never responded to my real name."

"What's your real name?"

"That I only share with the people closest to me," Hiccup winked with a smile, and I tried not to let the heat rise to my cheeks. I just shook my head and returned my hands to being buried in my face. I didn't need to deal with dumb, flirtatious princes at the moment.

"So, may I ask the name of this lovely lady?" Hiccup asked, in a small bow to me.

I took my hands away from my face, and looked at him weirdly.I wasn't here to make friends. I was here to stay till I got a good amount of money for my family, then I was planning on releasing _hell_ on this castle until I could get out. I was no "lovely lady". He had no right to call me that! Who did he think he was?

"Excuse me, but I am not a girl that you can just sweep of their feet _,"_ I said fiercely. "I don't care how posh your childhood was, with your dumb Cotillion background, but you can't treat me any way you want like some animal at your disposal." It was a little harsh, and afterward, I realized I could be punished for saying such words to a prince.

I expected him to be upset, or angry, but he just raised his eyebrows with a slight confusion. This angered me. I wanted him to be mad. I wanted to get kicked out of here as soon as possible. I didn't want to make friends, or get anyone to like me. I wanted to go back to my family.

"Sorry for offending you," Hiccup apologized. "I just wanted to make a friend."

I scrunched my eyebrows together. I hadn't thought about that; the prince must live a very sheltered life, without many friends to make. I didn't have much time for friends, but I still felt bad for him. I decided to share my name.

"Astrid, Astrid Hofferson," I said, sticking my arm out for a handshake. He eyed it for a second, and hesitantly shook it. This kid was confusing me to no end. "What's wrong? Never had a handshake?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "No," he said. "That's the part where my parents taught me to kiss a lady's hand." I retracted my hand a bit quickly at that part. I didn't want to be kissed, _ever_. Hiccup shook his head, though. "I don't want to do that, and I hate that I'm forced to, and I can tell already that you wouldn't like that."

I just stared at him. His freckle-splashed face seemed much more relaxed than our first encounter. He looked like any easy-going guy, definitely not prince or royalty, the people in the fancy suits sitting stiffly in their thrones.

"I wish I had your problems," I said through the silence. I don't know why I said it, but his complaints seemed much less extreme than mine. He didn't understand hunger or underpaid labor. He didn't understand what it was like out of his comfortable life.

"Why? I sit at desks, planning and working all day on money problems and meetings with allies. It's awful."

My blood started to boil. "Have you ever been hungry?"

The prince's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? I've like, skipped lunch before."

I felt like a balloon that was filled to the top. I was about to explode. Hiccup's lack of knowledge about _his people_ made me want to scream.

"Have you ever been so hungry, because you haven't eaten anything in a day and a half, but you can't, because there's not enough food for your family to eat? Have you ever had to sacrifice your meals for your little siblings to eat? Have you ever had to sell your only childhood toy to put a loaf of bread on the table?"

Hiccup stared at me. I stared at him, my eyes narrowed. I hoped I was intimidating.

"Because I have. Multiple times."

Hiccup sat there for a little bit, his face turning red. It was embarrassing for him. I let him be embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Lady Astrid. I didn't mean to offend you," he said sincerely. He was so serious that it almost made my heart soften. Almost. "If there's anything I can do to help your family, well, then tell me. Though I'm not in the picture that often, I do have a sliver of power."

I rolled my eyes. That was ridiculous. Yes, I cared about my family. But not just my family. There were other people suffering, even worse than I had it. So I told him. "How do you expect to feed all the Sevens in the country?"

"Sevens? You're a Seven?"

My fists clenched and I stood, towering over the prince. I didn't care if he was royalty or not. I was sick of hearing people talk about my caste like it defined who I was as a person.

"Excuse me, _Your Highness,"_ I rolled out sickeningly. "I don't think my caste has any effect as to how much I'm worth as a person."

Hiccup stood, shaking his head. I felt disappointed that he did so, because I didn't like to have to look up into his eyes. I wanted to look down on _him._

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it that way," he said. "I'm sure you're a great person. I've just never met a Seven before." I shrugged. Was I really surprised? The prince lived a sheltered life from the rest of the society. It was no wonder that he hadn't encountered someone lower than a Three.

"It's fine. I'm used to it." I looked at the rising moon, hoping that anything would distract me from this conversation. A breath of fresh air turned out to be much worse than that. This prince was saying all of the wrong things.

"But you shouldn't be," Hiccup swung around, so he was in my line of sight. "No one should."

"But so many are," I said with fire in my words. "Listen, it's just Berk's way. Sevens are mistreated and live in poverty, and Ones are rich and living in palaces. It's just society."

"My father never told me so many people were living in poverty," Hiccup said. "We need to do something about it. This isn't right."

"And what, exactly, is your plan?"

"I don't know, but if I were in power, I would make sure there's enough food. I would make sure that there's enough food for everyone."


	4. Chapter 4

After my extensive breath of fresh air, Hiccup walked me in the castle, and he apologized for being rude earlier, and I did also for yelling at him. We gave me a handshake, a quite awkward one, but I left quickly because I was eager to sleep.

I stripped down into a nightgown laid out for me, and I climbed into the covers of the lucious bed. I expected it to be uncomfortable, for how fancy it was, but it was so cozy that my eyes immediately started drooping. I let them fall, enclosing my tired world with a pleasant, silent darkness.

I was awakened all too soon, two of my maids were holding a purple dress and adding final stitches to it. I sat up, my hair a mess, and I rubbed my eyes sleepily.

"She's awake!" Dory cheered. Tina Bell clapped with a grin, and Jane popped over from the bathroom.

"Lady Astrid, I drew you a bath," Jane said. "We're finishing up your dress for today."

"Thank you, Jane," I said. "I like the color of the dress."

I was surprised to know that the maids hand-made all of my dresses. I thought they just went into an expensive boutique and bought a few bags worth of dresses my size.

I stepped out of bed, stretching my feet and feeling the soft carpet between my toes. I walked over to the bathroom, where indeed, Jane had prepared a hot bath with wonderfully-smelling soap and bubbles. I thanked the head maid again, and she curtsied and left me in the bath.

After washing my hair and scrubbing my body with the lovely-scented soap, Tina Bell wrapped me in a snug robe and dried my hair with a device that blew hot air out of it. She made a large braid, and wrapped the entire style around my head, as if I were wearing a wreath of flowers. She left a few stray strands fall in front of my ears and curled them.

Dory came in with makeup. She drew a very thin black line on my eyelid, and then darkened my lashes with mascara. After putting on a natural shade of eyeshadow, she brought out a dark lipstick, which I raised an eyebrow at.

"You'll love it. It matches your dress," Dory said with a big smile. "Trust me."

When she applied it quickly, and then brought a mirror around for me to see. I gasped a little, because I didn't look that much different, though my lips were bold. Not just bold, they were _powerful._ The maroon shade enchanted me and I couldn't look away. I liked to have that effect on people. My eyes looked nice, not too much, not too little for the dress I was going to be wearing. Tina Bell's braid looked elegant _and_ practical at the same time, which was perfect.

Jane brought my dress in and helped me into it. It was a deep purple with a sparkly silver belt around my waist. It gleamed and glistened when the sunlight reflected off of it. I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't into girly-girl, princessy things, but I admit, I felt beautiful.

I thanked my maids multiple times, and they curtsied and hustled out of my room. They left a pair of silver heels for me, which didn't quite kill my toes, yet. I paced around, trying to practice walking in heels so I didn't make a fool of myself when going down the halls.

I walked down to breakfast, seeing I was a few minutes early. A few girls, including Anna, were already there and waiting eagerly for the food to be served. She looked pretty, in a soft pink gown and her strawberry-blond hair in a large bun at the back of her head. I pulled out a chair next to her and sat.

"You look beautiful!" Anna said. "And you smell wonderful!"

I cracked a smile. "You too." I'd never been complimented on my scent before.

There was only one other girl at our side of the table, one with dark hair, green eyes, and a forest green dress. She scooted over to us to try to make conversation.

"Hi! I'm Heather," she said, holding out her hand for me to shake. I reached over the table and shook her hand with a small smile.

"I'm Astrid, and this is Anna," I introduced.

"I know," Heather rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows of the Seven in the Selection."

I frowned. I didn't want to be known as only a Seven. I didn't like to be labeled that way, as if I actually didn't matter, and that only my caste mattered to other people. It really hurt, and Heather, who was probably a Three or something, didn't understand.

Anna and Heather continued to gush over Prince Eret while I looked at all the silverware laid out for me. There were around four forks and five spoons, along with two knives and two empty glasses. I stared at them, trying to sort out what would be the best for my breakfast, and even understand how one person would need this much silverware.

When more girls filed in, in pretty gowns and fancy hairdos, someone rang a bell and waiters came out with plates of food. There were so many delectable dishes, ranging from french toast to pancakes to omelettes to coffee cakes. Breakfast sandwiches were set out on trays, along with multiple fruit bowls and pastry dishes that had icing oozing out of the sides in delicious, slow streams. I stared at the food, my mouth watering. This would keep my family fed for months, and this is only a single meal for people at the castle.

Anna immediately dug in, and grabbed several chocolate tarts to start out with. Heather shoveled eggs onto her plate, and I just watched. I watched the other people pile on food onto their plates as if it was no big deal. No big deal that so many people in the country were starving, and there was enough food for each of us to fill ourselves at _least_ three times.

I picked up the tongs and selected two pancakes and a few slices of glistening bacon which made my stomach rumble more fiercely. I took a few bites, munching slowly as I watched the girls excitedly gossip about the prince.

Lydia came into the dining hall, strutting in a gold suit that day, her blond hair pinned tightly back and her glasses perfectly symmetric on her face. She held out a clipboard and looked at it closely, then scanning the room of babbling girls.

"Ladies, may I have your attention," Lydia called. "The royals will be here in just five short minutes, so be on your best behavior. Remember to show respect."

The room erupted in giggles and excited hollers. Anna bounced in her seat while Heather ate more eggs with a giant smile on her face. I, however, was extremely underwhelmed. I felt no excitement in meeting the king who had done nothing for me, my family, and the people in the lower castes.

The minutes passed by all too quickly. Lydia hushed us and made us stand, so we could properly curtsy to the royal family. I grudgingly left my plate of pancakes to stand next to Anna and Heather while the royals entered the room.

The king entered first, followed by the queen. They were so different in looks, I would have never guessed them ending up together. He was huge, a human boulder with a massive red beard, while she was thin and small and glided carefully along the floor, graying brown braids falling down her back.

Prince Eret entered and the girls melted. He was tall, buff, had some tattoos, and had dark hair that pulled back into a ponytail. I didn't like his appearance, so he had to sell me with his personality if I had any chance of _wanting_ to stay here at all.

We curtsied, I almost tipped over in my heels, and we were seated. The king and queen sat in their thrones in the room, while Prince Eret took his seat at the head of the table, looking down with a pleased expression on his face.

One by one, girls were called up to meet the prince in a brief interview. When Anna went, twirled her hair and batted her long lashes, laughing at whatever he said and blushing through the whole thing. As much as I had come to like Anna, this just made me cringe at how fake it was. I didn't want to go up there.

I was next, though, after Anna, so I got up slowly and stalked over to the chair that was next to Prince Eret's. I sat down, not smiling or giving any hints of emotion in my eyes. I wanted to seem cold and distant. I didn't want to befriend this man. I wanted him to hate me and get rid of me.

"Hello, lovely," he said with his weird accent. His eyes weren't the same shade of green as Hiccup's, or his parents', they looked different. A little weird. "May I have the honor of knowing your name, beautiful?"

I looked at him for a moment, before spitting out, "Astrid."

"Ah. Lady Astrid. _Divine beauty_ in Ancient Norse. Perfectly suiting for an angel like you."

"You don't know anything about me," I said. "I'm far from an angel, if you knew me then you would know that."

"Feisty personality. I like it," Eret winked. My frown deepened along with my scowl. "Loveliest Astrid, what do you like to do in your free time?"

"I don't have free time," I answered plainly, trying to make my words stone cold. Eret raised an eyebrow, so I continued. "My family doesn't have enough money to buy food, so I have to work whenever I can so that they can eat. I know it's quite unfamiliar to you, _work,_ I mean, but if you need me to use simpler terms, just ask."

I heard a muffled snort from a corner of the room. My head whipped around, trying to find the source of the sound. I spotted a mop of shaggy auburn hair and an unkempt suit with a loose tie. The corners of my mouth twitched upward, fighting a smile. Hiccup looked up at me, meeting my gaze for a second with a big grin. He just looked at Eret and rolled his eyes. I tried not to smile again.

Eret just chuckled. "Well, okay, then," he said. "You must be the Seven."

My gaze narrowed. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Not at all, my lovely Astrid. It means you're strong. I like strong women."

I crinkled my nose and Eret just smirked. I wanted to slap him so badly. I have never wanted to punch the smirk off of someone's face so badly.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" I asked, trying to contain my anger and resentment toward this man.

"I am positive that I will learn more about you later, my beautiful Astrid," Eret said, which made me want to gag. I stood up from my chair, and he took my hand and kissed it. Hiccup made a face from his corner and I just rolled my eyes and gave Prince Eret a tiny, fake smile. I hated him, but I didn't want to be executed for behaving rudely to him. Plus, I needed to stay in this Selection for a few weeks if I wanted my family to be well off for a while.

I sat back in my chair as Heather went up to meet him. Anna sighed dreamily next to me, picking at her chocolate pastry with a distant look in her eyes. I stared at her, while she was lost in her love wonderland.

"Isn't he perfect?" she said, giggling as she sipped juice and looked at me. Her eyes were glistening as if she were in a trance. It was all ridiculous to me.

"Not even close," I mumbled, picking up my fork and taking a bite of pancakes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all your reviews and support! 3**

After I finished my meal, I excused myself to use the restroom. When I walked down the long corridors, I saw Hiccup's tall frame next to the wall. He was writing on paper and he kept pressing his hand against the pillars.

"Got bored listening to your brother try to woo some commoners?" I asked, watching him take notes on a clipboard. I was able to peek over his tall shoulders because of the heels that I was wearing. His clipboard had scribbles of shapes and numbers and notes, lines and blocks covering the paper. Next to a sketch of a rectangular prism, he jotted down a few numbers.

Hiccup sighed and held his clipboard at his side. "You could say that," he answered, looking at the wall. He pressed his palm against it and pushed. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was trying to figure out. As if he were reading my mind, he started talking. "I'm studying architecture."

"So, you're like, a nerd?"

"Hell yeah," he said. "I also wear big glasses and bowties most of the time, I get spinach stuck in my teeth and I want to marry trigonometry." Sarcasm dripped from his voice, making me chuckle as I walked away, leaving him to his work.

After struggling through using the toilet with my tight dress, I went back to the dining hall where most of the girls were clearing out for the day. There were multiple activities that were available to the Selected, so we didn't get bored during our stay. About six girls gathered for a study session on flowers, around ten went to change so they could play kickball, and others went to paint on the hill, to shoot arrows at the archery range, or ride the glorious horses kept in the royal stables.

My legs itched to move. I hadn't realized how much I ran at home until, the two days I've been here, I haven't been able to run around. I used to run to the old track at the public school, and then run some laps, but only if I had free time. I liked feeling the wind in my face, the power my legs packed when I drove off of the ground with my foot. I loved going to bed comfortably sore from running.

I approached Lydia in her shiny suit and clipboard. "Is there any place I can run?" I didn't mean for it to be confusing, but I suppose it came out that way.

Lydia's face scrunched up. "Run? What do you mean _run?"_

"Like, for exercise? You know?" What? Had these people never run before?

Lydia adjusted her glasses and sucked in an uncomfortable breath. "I'll speak with the guards, then we'll see." She turned and strutted away. I hated when she strutted.

I spent the next hour sitting around the Women's Lounge, skimming through old books and staring boredly into the fire. My legs still itched to move, and I knew they wouldn't stop until I was able to get up and run.

Lydia eventually came in, still looking quite uncomfortable. "You have seven minutes until your ride leaves for the track. Get dressed."

My eyes lit up. I was expecting to just have to run in a small, enclosed area in the gardens with several guards, but a _track?_ I was able to do a full workout!

Quickly running to my room to rid of my dress and makeup, I stepped into my shorts and old sneakers and bolted down the stairs and outside into where a car was waiting for me.

I was elated that I was privileged to run on a track. Not just any track, but the home of the Angeles Track Club, the club in which is sent to the Olympics most often.

I ran one lap at a time, each rep trying to break my previous time. The burns and aches in my muscles felt sweet and satisfying. My legs and core screamed at me to stop, but I kept pushing myself further. I couldn't stop. I believed, if you have a goal, you should go beyond hard work to get yourself there.

I decided end my last four-hundred on a fast one, aiming for fifty seconds. I wheeled around the track, pumping my arms and breathing very heavily. I wanted to stop so badly, but I had to finish. I wanted to get faster. I _needed_ to get faster. Not for anyone or to impress anyone, but for _me._ This is the one thing that's _mine._

I came in at 50.5 seconds, which I was happy with. I sucked in as much air as I could when I collapsed onto the turf. I sipped my water bottle, trying to quench the burning thirst in my throat.

"I bet you could be competing with the pros right now," a voice called from the stands. Someone was watching me! My head snapped up and I looked at them, and just rolled my eyes and set my head back down when I saw them.

"I'm serious," Hiccup said, jumping down from the stands. "You're fast. I get to watch some track meets sometimes, and I bet you're faster than some of them."

I sat up, tired and still out of breath. "I'm not. I just run for fun."

"That didn't look like _fun."_

I rolled my eyes again. "I am going to stay strong. It's as simple as that. I refuse to be fattened up by the castle."

"I'm serious, though, about the track club. Were you on a team back in… Dakota?"

I was surprised he remembered my province. But I shook my head. "I just run on my own."

Hiccup scratched his chin and sat down on the turf next to me. "Since you're now a Three, and if you don't make it to the end, like your wishes, maybe I could talk to someone to get you on a professional team."

I sat up taller at this. I kept forgetting that once you were Selected, if you were a Four or below, you were automatically promoted to be a Three. Being a Seven has been ingrained in my head for so long, the whole thing was still unbelievable.

Once I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me. I didn't want to do small repairs forever. I wouldn't have to now that I'm Selected. My whole family can do something different with the money being sent home. I knew I was fast at running, but I didn't know I was _professional athlete_ material. It sounded fun and exciting, along with enticing.

"How did you get here?" I asked, changing the subject. I didn't want to get my hopes up for becoming a professional athlete.

"I drove my own car," he said, shrugging. "I heard a guard telling Dad that a girl wanted to run on a track. He wanted to say no, but before Mom was crowned queen, she was runner, so she convinced him."

I was about to comment on how I found it amazing that he had his own car, but a distant alarm sounded in the air and Hiccup's head snapped up, eyes wide. I couldn't even talk before he took my arm and started sprinting out, the guard close behind us.

He wouldn't answer me when I asked what was happening. I didn't know what the siren was, or why they were running so fast.

As the screeching noise pierced our ears, Hiccup opened the passenger door of what I assumed to be his car, and he pushed me inside before opening the his door and getting in and turning on the engine.

"What's happening?" I asked frantically. Hiccup started driving out of the stadium, zooming down the twisting roads of the city.

"The dragons are in the castle."

Dragons? What in the _world?_ Hiccup looked like he didn't have time to answer, and when we pulled up to the gates, all I could do was watch.

Guards surrounded the castle. Hiccup almost had to fight them to get in. Smoke billowed into the sky near the east corridor, where I only knew where it was because my maids told me that's where they stayed. The thought of my maids being attacked by rebels made my blood boil. I wanted to storm into the castle and punch each "dragon" in the face.

Hiccup sped up to the side gate and shouted at me to get out. I hadn't known him for that long, but the look he had in his eyes scared me; I had never seen that in him before. Not many things scared me, either.

"What are the dragons?" I shouted over the blaring siren as he pulled my arm.

"The rebels that want to destroy Berk," Hiccup called back. "He opened a door that had stone stairs dwindle down into darkness. I looked at him with wide eyes as he yelled at me, "Get down there! It's safe!"

I fought against his push. "What? No! I want to fight!"

Hiccup took a step back. I doubt he had ever heard of a girl wanting to fight, but it was true. I had always loved action, and ever since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of Berk opening up the military for women so I could fight for my country.

"You can't- it's too dangerous," Hiccup said loudly.

I stomped my foot. "Bullshit! I've lived in more danger than you. I'm going to fight." I shoved myself away from the staircase and looked down the hall. It was clear, thankfully, because I didn't have any weapons.

Weapons. I needed something to fight with. I had no idea who these "dragons" were, or how dangerous they were.

I scanned my area, and something caught my eye that I could use. Hiccup looked at me confused when I pulled a luxurious bench over to the nearest window and used it to stand. I jumped up and yanked the curtains down from the windows and hopped down from the bench, a curtain rod in my hand.

"Let's go," I said with fire on my tongue. I stormed toward the source of the commotion in the castle, which wasn't very far away.

"Astrid, I can't let you do this!" Hiccup called. He was still trying to stop me? It made me somewhat mad. Then I remembered; he still didn't know me. He was just a royal doll in this playhouse of plastic, fake people.

"Catch me!" I shouted. I ran. I didn't know how fast he was, but I guaranteed myself I was faster. It wasn't smart, but I was still right. I was faster.

I kicked open a set of doors to find guards firing and people dressed in black fighting with knives. Hiccup was screaming my name from behind me, but I didn't care. I had to help. The guards were painfully outnumbered, because the "dragons" were blocking the doors that the others were trying to get through.

I had street-smarts. I knew how to fight. I had been in a few fights before, in alleyways and backstreets. But none like the battle I was in at that moment.

I almost didn't know what to do, barging into the situation like this. I had a moment of doubt, but I shook it away. I was being stupid, doing this, but I knew that and embraced it. I took a deep breath, and envisioned I was back in Dakota. I was coming up behind a gang, who were taunting an old woman for her food. I let my instincts take over.

I came up behind a few of the criminals and whacked their heads with the big curtain rod. They collapsed and the guard that was fighting them was able to take care of them. I darted around, hitting and battling with these "dragons". I felt blood buzzing through my veins. I felt alive and vicious. I wanted to protect the people in the castle.

Someone punched my eye, and I let out a hiss of pain and kicked his stomach hard, sending him into a glass vase which fell atop his head. Another person tackled me, but they were weak and I easily escaped their grip and defeated them.

I saw one rebels kick open what looked like a closet door, and there was a mass inside of it I couldn't see. Was it a person? It was hard to see. A gash, I didn't realize I had gotten, made itself known on my forehead and dripped blood into my left eye. I couldn't hesitate if a person in the closet was in trouble. I sprinted over to the rebel, and whipped my rod into his head and his skull smacked onto the hard floor.

The fighting was slowing, thanks to me, the guards were able to retake the room and overpower the rest of the dragons.

Panting with half of my sight blurred with red, I looked to the person in the closet. In that moment, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to kill myself _or_ the weak man crouching in the cozy, tucked away hiding space.

Prince Eret stood and brushed himself off, rising to his full height several inches taller than me. He didn't intimidate me, though. I knew I looked threatening, with the fresh bruises on my face and the bloody forehead.

"Lady Astrid," he chanted with his signature smile. "You don't look exceptional. You should put on a dress and some makeup. You're in front of a prince."

I couldn't believe what I had heard. I really, _really_ wanted to kill him now. Fury bubbled inside of me before I could stop it, and the only way it could come out without making me _explode_ was my words.

"Are you kidding me?" I screeched. The room was quiet, I didn't even notice that the battle had stopped and the dragons were defeated in the room. "Is this a joke?"

Eret's narrowed eyes told me it wasn't. I was going to explode. How _dare_ he tell me that? How _DARE_ he?!

"I just saved your _ass._ You would've been beaten to a bloody pulp if it weren't for me, and you're saying I don't _look good?_ Fine then. While I paint my lips and darken my lashes, I hope you'll be sewing up a pair of _balls_ on so you can man up and fight your own battles, instead of putting them in the hands of a female Seven!"

Silence made my ears pound. It felt good to get that out. It took me a moment to realize I could be sent home right away for my words. I could even be executed. But if it made Eret just a _fraction_ of a better person, it was worth it.

His dark eyebrows narrowed further, his unnatural green eyes filled with anger. "You have no right to talk to me like that, you bitch, I'm a prince!" he howled. "I should have you hanged!"

"Eret, you dumb fucker, she saved your life!" Hiccup's voice from behind me sounded. "She, like a good queen would, stood up to her opponents and fought them face-to-face to defend the castle. You need a fighter by your side."

I started to thank Hiccup in my mind, but then I started to curse him. I didn't want Eret to fancy me. I wanted to get out of here. Not to my luck, Eret's face relaxed slightly.

"Lady, you shall stay only with a proper apology," he announced. His daring eyes told me that it would be unwise not to do so. My family needed the money.

Glaring back at Hiccup, which made him look confused, I turned and curtsied slowly to Prince Eret and looked up to his tattooed face with my eyebrows slightly narrowed. "My sincerest apologies, Your Highness."

Eret straightened his tie and rolled his shoulders back. "Accepted. You are dismissed, Lady Astrid." I noticed that he didn't apologize for calling me a "bitch"

With my cue, I turned on my heel, and controlled my walk to be slow as I stalked out of the room with bodies and guards. After the door shut behind me, I stormed down the halls. During the encounter, the siren had silenced, signaling the end of the attack.

Unsure of where to go, I went out to the main hall with the huge statues and tapestries and stained glass windows. It was quiet, only an occasional guard would rush by.

I couldn't help it. I collapsed with sobs. My sweaty, messy hair got dirty with the blood on my forehead. I ached everywhere; from the run and the battle. I cried and cried. I didn't want to be in this castle, I didn't want to be Prince Eret. I wanted to be home. I wanted to hug Mom. I wanted to hold the twins. I wanted to joke with Gustav and my father.

I didn't know how much longer I could take this castle, and it had only been two days.

* * *

The next few days, I was ordered to stay in my room. It was quite humiliating, I missed making good impressions on the king and queen. I was disappointed; it sounded like I would like the queen. I missed on a group interview with Mulch and Bucket consisting of the twenty-nine remaining Selected.

My meals were brought to me, though, which was nice. I got to stay in a warm nightgown and snuggle in my cozy bed all day. But I packed my things in case. I was sure they were going to send me home. Hiccup could protest all he wanted, but telling the heir to grow balls wasn't exactly _respectful_ , which is what a queen would've had to been.

I also packed my things because my maids seemed awfully quiet. I thought they knew. They knew I was going to be sent away. The usually-peppy personality Dory always carried seemed to fade away over the week, until she was always rubbing her red, tear-stained eyes.

Tina Bell didn't interact with me at all, except for setting my food tray near me. Jane avoided my eye contact, and didn't seem happy to be around me at all. I knew it. I savored my warm bed, alone, until I was to go home to my regular working days.

I felt bad; Gustav and my parents were working while I sat in plush covers all day. They did have significantly more money, but they still didn't have full meals set out for them three times a day. I decided to write them, they needed to hear from me. Not just the reruns on television at the library.

When I was sealing up my written letters in the same thick, cream colored envelopes that the Selection forms came in, a knock sounded. I sucked a shallow breath in. This was it. I wouldn't need the letters, I would be seeing my parents soon. They've come to send me home.

I retied my hair in attempt to look presentable for whoever was going to take me away. I grabbed my bag and shoes, and breathed before opening the door.

I expected for their to be a tall guard in uniform, or maybe even Eret himself. I wasn't expecting Hiccup in his unkempt black-button up to be leaning on the doorframe and picking at his nails. Was _he_ going to be taking me? That was even worse! The only person I had close to being a friend to take me away.

"They sent you?" I asked miserably. I had wanted to be sent away. I still did, but after another pay or two, and not in this absolutely degrading fashion.

Hiccup's face scrunched up. "Sent me for what? Who's they?" He pushed himself off of the door and straightened his posture. "And are you going somewhere? You know they'll catch you if you run away."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not being sent home?"

Hiccup coughed. "What?" he spluttered. "No! I slapped some sense into Eret. He's still a bit, well, _salty,_ but in worse news, he's still quite interested in you."

I stuck my tongue out in disgust, but dropped my bag and shoes in somewhat relief. I wasn't going home. I got to provide more money for my family.

"Thanks for talking to him," I said.

"It's no big deal," Hiccup insisted. "I'd be bored here without you."

I smiled gratefully. I was glad to have made a friend. It was hard for me to relate to bubbly girls who are boy-obsessed, so having this awkward, yet easy-to-talk-to prince was a blessing.

My face flushed. The queen interested me, but I didn't want to be scolded at for banging some heads in with a rod to protect the castle. I rubbed my face.

"Alright. Thanks," I said. "Am I relieved from house-arrest?"

Hiccup grinned with his gap-toothed smile. "Yep."

A flurry of giggles sounded, and the boy turned his head to look down the hall. His eyes widened and he jumped through door to my room. He scuttled over behind the wall near the bookcase, and I was about to ask him what he was doing, but then I heard Eret's voice.

"Goodbye, my lovely," the thickly-accented voice spoke. The girl with longest blonde hair that was brushing the floor, giggled softly. He bent down and planted a sloppy kiss on her mouth. She skipped off, a smile on her face.

Eret looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I think he wanted to speak, but he didn't for several seconds. Then I remembered. I hadn't greeted his royal presence properly.

I sank into a shallow curtsy. His snark smile made my eyes narrow further.

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked lightly, as if he were taunting me.

I shook my head with a fake smile, the biggest one I was able to muster. "No, Your Highness, I am fine."

I waited patiently until he rounded the corner until I pulled Hiccup out of my hair, wanting an explanation as to why he hid from Eret.

"Well, the Selected are not allowed to have any relationships, romantic or sexual, outside of Eret. That would be considered rebelling against the royals."

"But this is barely a friendship, let alone a romantic one!"

"I know," he rolled his eyes. "But my parents said that I shouldn't be seen around any of the girls, and that I should just ignore them and go along with my business."

I groaned. "These rules are too much for me."

"I've lived with them all my life," Hiccup said. He snapped his fingers as his eyes lit up. "I do think Mom wants to talk to you. Soon. It sounded important."

Great.


	6. Chapter 6

**Stoick is a bit out of character in this story, at least in the beginning. He acts similar to like he did in the first HTTYD movie, but a bit more harsh. Hope this doesn't upset anyone too much!**

Hiccup led me down winding hallways until he reached the royals quarters, the private rooms of the king's family. He pointed toward a set of double doors, where apparently, Queen Valka was awaiting me.

I cautiously and slowly stepped into the room, still unsure I was welcome here. It was nerve-wracking. I had only seen glimpses of her at meals and on the television. Would she like me? Was she here to scold me?

I saw it was a lounge, with a cozy warmth to it paired with the natural feeling of luxury. There was expensive red wallpaper covering the walls, plushy velvet furniture, a large fireplace, and old paintings and pictures of past royals. Dark wood accents complimented the fuzzy feeling the room had on me.

Queen Valka sat at the most beautiful piano I had ever seen. It was a huge grand piano constructed from dark, glossy wood with shining white keys that her nimble fingers rested on. She wasn't facing me, I could only see her long, graying braids fall down her back, but she greeted me as if she saw me.

"Hello, Lady Astrid," she said in her delicately soft voice. As she turned, I curtsied, showing my respect for her. I didn't respect many people. It was hard to earn my respect. But the way this woman held herself and ruled with a quiet power that was so radiant made me want to _be_ her.

"Your Majesty," I said quietly. "You sent me?"

The queen gave me a smile. Her long, narrow face made me realize how Hiccup looked quite similar to her, at least the face shape. From what I'd seen of King Stoick, Hiccup had his eyes and nose. But these cheeks were so clearly the younger prince.

"Indeed," she replied. She patted the piano bench next to her. I slid carefully onto it. I didn't feel worthy of being here, in my simple black pants and shirt, sitting at a magnificent piano next to a lovely queen in a soft brown gown.

"Do you play?" she asked. Oh, how I wish I did know piano at that moment, so I could play for her. But my only musical ability was playing a bit of flute.

"No, but I know some flute," I said. Queen Valka clapped her hands together with a grin, and stood and strode over across the room. She slid open a small door, where many instruments were placed on shelves. She pulled out a silver flute from the drawers, and walked back over to me, placing it in my hands.

"Go on," the queen urged. I inhaled shakily, and stood up. It had been so long since I had played.

Bringing the instrument up below my lips, I started with a simple scale. I blew slowly, testing out this flute. It felt so expensive in my hands, contrasting to the old, broken one that I was given by my dad's coworker for helping him fix one of his hard projects.

I grasped onto memories from before I entered my teenage years. A flurry of old sheet music and cracked sounds pounded into my brain. My fingers pressed down and it was muscle-memory, one of the tunes Mom always loved to hear me play.

Queen Valka found the key I was playing in, and played a fun accompaniment to go along with my song. She laughed her melodic chuckle as her fingers flew over the keys, dancing along to the beat of the music.

Harmonies bounced around the room, and I smiled. I doubt that other girls did this with the queen. I doubt they had the chance to have a conversation with her like I was having.

She slowed her piano playing, and I did so with the flute. We finished on a shaky, but grand chord. I laughed when we finished and she clapped her hands.

"So, now that we're settled," Valka smiled as she gestured me to sit back down next to her. I had to restrain myself from gulping in fear of what was coming next.

"What you did during the attack was very brave," the queen said, swiping dust off of the white piano keys with her fingers. "Believe it or not, the majority of the girls were on their knees, sobbing during the attack. They hid behind curtains, under tables and couches, and in closets.

"As a queen and Eret's mother, I am not pleased to hear of the comments you verbally directed toward him," Valka said, which caused the anxiety in the pit of my belly to deepen and spread up my body to the point where I wanted to vomit. I was going to be punished. I knew it.

"But, as a strong, independent woman myself, I _couldn't_ be prouder," she beamed, which caused my eyebrows to raise. _Proud?_ That was an answer I wasn't expecting.

She took my hand in hers. "You stood up for yourself, and the people you care about. That is what I like about you. Eret was wrong, and believe me when I say that we scolded him. Big time. I want to thank you for saving him and for opening him up to a world of strong women."

The corners of my mouth twitched up. I liked the queen.

When I was dismissed from the royal lounge, I realized Hiccup wasn't there to guide me back to the regular floors. I had no idea where I was.

I thought for a brief moment about asking the queen for directions, but the door shut behind me and I didn't want to be disrespectful. The only thing I remembered was the way in which we came, so I turned to the left and started walking.

I tried to think back to a half an hour earlier, when Hiccup brought me to these royal quarters, but I simply couldn't visualize the path he took me. There were too many red-carpeted hallways, too many golden lights that shined on the old paintings, too many statues that all looked similar.

I found myself descending a set of gradual steps. The anxiety of being lost was almost replaced by the wonder and curiosity of the artifacts that hung on the walls. I brushed my hand along the wall, and it ran under old tiaras and jewels from royals from a century or two ago.

I started climbing a different staircase, which made me wonder how guards, maids, and the family could ever memorize all these halls and rooms. It was such a big place, I knew if I were a child, this would have been hide-and-seek heaven.

A sound at the top of the steps made me pause. A harsh smack. Muffled voices. Footsteps.

 _Shitshitshit_ , was all that could run through my mind. I was going to be caught!

I rounded a corner, but only found the noises getting louder. Crouching behind a corner, I peered around. There was an open door with lights flickering inside. Outside of the door, there was a small crown hanging on the wall, and underneath it, said in engraved gold letters: **PRINCE HICCUP HADDOCK III**.

That must've been Hiccup's bedroom. What in the world was going on in there? Was someone getting hurt?

I army-crawled over to glance through the crack in the door, but I was stopped by the noise of shattering glass. I halted, and scrambled back behind the corner. I listened for more noise. yelp followed by a growl-like voice. One was scared, the other was angry.

"Dad, _please_ stop this," the scared voice said. I covered my mouth. I knew that voice. That was Hiccup's voice. His dad…

"Yer a _disgrace!"_ bellowed the king. I put my other hand over my mouth. I had to restrain myself from gasping or from making any noise at all. I needed to get up and leave. But I felt super-glued to my spot around the corner and on the floor. "Why did the devil curse us with _you,_ out of all sons?!"

"Dad, please. I'll stay out of your sight. I won't talk to any of the girls. I won't get in Eret's way."

A loud slap followed by the sound of something hitting the floor followed. I closed my eyes and prayed that it wasn't what I thought it was.

"Damn right!" King Stoick hollered. "Yeh're not worthy of talking to any of those girls. Yeh best not be around if they're around. We can't have them seeing what an _embarrassment_ you are to the family name. And yeh _won't_ mess with Eret's claim to the throne."

"I know, Dad, I know," Hiccup said weakly. The way his voice was cracking made me cover my mouth. I wanted to scream. He was being beaten. He was being abused. How could this happen?

It all made sense to me now; how he wasn't allowed to be near the girls. How he was never in the public eye. How nobody knew who he was. His father _hated_ him. King Stoick was disappointed to have him, so kept him away from everyone.

Thinking about how awful it all sounded, I tried my best not to let tears slip down my cheeks. I wanted to plug my ears, run away and pretend I hadn't heard any of this interaction.

"Then ACT like yeh know!"

I bolted before I could get caught. I ran down stairs and through doors. My emotions were taking the best of me, blurring my vision. How could the king treat Hiccup like that? How come Hiccup never told me?

I slapped myself mentally at that. If you were being abused by your parents, would you go around advertising it? _Especially_ if your parent is the most powerful person in the country, the king himself. It was still hard for me to fathom someone hating Hiccup that much.

I dashed around for minutes. I couldn't think, I didn't know where I was going. I saw a parade of girls in fancy dresses being herded into the dining room when I ran down a flight of stairs.

I burst out over there, where I caught the end of the line. It seemed as if they were going into the dining hall for a meal. I jogged my way toward there, trying to act casual and as if I were going to dinner, too. But a girl with dark hair and eyes with a big blue bow in her hair frowned at me.

"Aren't you the Seven?" she said, her eyes somewhat challenging. I paused, trying to catch my breath. I wasn't going to answer that question. I hated being referred to as "the Seven".

"Why were you in the royal quarters?" the same girl asked fiercely. "You're trying to sneak time in with Eret! You _cheater!"_

"Drizella," murmured a girl with light brown skin next to her. "Calm down."

"I can explain," I said. The last thing I wanted was to make any enemies with these girls. One thing I had noticed throughout my time here at the castle was that these girls would do anything to get to Eret. They would tear each other apart to claim the crown.

"I will _not!"_ Drizella shrieked. "I will _not_ stand for… for a _cheater_ ruining my chances of being with the prince!"

"I'm not cheating," I tried to say, but girl kept shouting. Other girls started to look over and wonder what was happening, why there was so much screaming happening at the end of the line.

"I was talking to the queen," I explained.

"See? That's-" The other girl started to say.

"Tiana, stay out of this!" growled Drizella. "She might have been talking to the queen, but only to probably figure out how to get Eret to like her! Why would the queen want to talk to a filthy _Seven?!"_

I took a step toward Drizella and jabbed a finger at her. "Because unlike _you,_ I'm a decent person with some personality!" My words spat fire. My words had a strong effect on her, I could tell.

Drizella squealed and jumped at me. She tackled me and flailed her arms around in a desperate attempt to hit me. I pushed her off, but she just got right back on, batting my face with her hands. It confused and annoyed me more than it hurt me. I would have fought back, of course, but fighting in the Selection is _completely_ forbidden, and I wasn't ready to leave just yet. There was no way I was leaving without talking to Hiccup.

"Ladies!" I heard Lydia's voice scream. The loud clicking of her heels came close and Drizella hopped off of me, wailing and screaming that I had injured her. Guards came rushing over as girls surrounded us, wondering what the ruckus was.

"She _hurt_ me!" cried the dark-haired brat, her fake sobs making me cringe. One of the guards pulled me up off of the ground and held me. Luckily, two more guards held both of Drizella's arms, restraining her as well.

"No, I didn't hurt her," I said, pleading my case. I hoped the girls that had witnessed Drizella tackling me would speak up for me. My small hope had came true when Tiana stepped in to save the day.

"It wasn't Astrid's fault, Miss Lydia," Tiana said. "Drizella tackled her. I saw the whole thing."

A few other girls nodded and murmured agreements to Tiana's words, which I breathed out inaudible thanks. The guard released me and walked over to Drizella.

"C'mon, miss, you're out," he said sternly. Happiness swelled in my chest, but I wouldn't show it. I wasn't planning on being screamed at more by this insane girl.

The change in Drizella's demeanor was drastic. Her fake sobs immediately halted, and her eyes widened as she stomped her foot. "What?! No! I'm staying and I'm going to marry Eret and be the queen! It's _destiny!"_

"Let's go, men." The guards hauled her away as she screamed obscenities, mostly directed towards me. Lydia dusted herself off and sashayed away, muttering, and the girls resumed their place in line as if nothing had happened. I bet they had hoped Drizella would be out sometime soon. I had only known her for less than ten minutes, and I knew I disliked her.

Muttering a thanks to Tiana, I went back to my room. My maids hurried out when I curled up under my bed. _What a terrible day,_ I thought. _Hiccup being abused, I got a girl kicked out, what's next?_

I was snuggled all cozy and warm, just two hours or so into a relaxing sleep, before a loud tapping noise sounded on my window.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for all of your kind reviews! I love love love reading them and getting your feedback from them.**

 **Guest who wrote the long review (haha): Thank you for your review. I hope people can understand that sometimes a character can act differently in situations like these which have been going on for a while.**

 **Other guests: Thanks for your reviews!**

 **BrawlerGamer: You're right in that Hiccup doesn't care about the throne! And I can tell you that Valka does love Hiccup and cares for him deeply.**

 **Draco09: Thank you! If you ever want to learn more on the Selection world, there's .com that explains the entire society in it!**

 **GrimBoy: Yes, I'm glad it makes people ask questions! Thank you for your review**

 **harrypanther: Wow, thank you for all your feedback! I _love_ your work by the way (:**

Staggering out of bed, groggy and with messy hair, I stumbled to the window and peered through it. A pair of bright green eyes stared back closely at me, and it surprised me to the point where I tripped and fell backward.

Hiccup laughed from my windowsill, and I rolled my eyes as I unlocked the window and slid it open for him. He hopped in, taking off the black hat he used to cover his hair.

"What are you doing here?" I groaned as I rubbed my eyes. I was painfully tired, and oh-so comfortable in my bed. As much as I was starting to enjoy Hiccup's company, all I wanted was sleep. The air was cold and harsh compared to my thick, soft blankets.

Hiccup jumped backwards onto my bed, hopping on the fluffy blankets. "I'm grounded, and I can't come out of my room."

"So what are you doing here?"

"They're not going to find out when it's the middle of the night, are they?"

"Don't you have guards?"

"They don't assign guards on me," Hiccup laughed. Thinking back to his bedroom, I heard the angry voice again and the slapping sound. I heard the weak words and the pleads to stop. Looking at Hiccup, I remembered back to his father beating him. How could he act so casual around me, with such a huge secret?

It made me sad to think of what a burden he must've had on his shoulders. Who would he talk to, after all? He doesn't have any friends in the castle. He couldn't tell the authorities; what would they do? They can't arrest the _king._ They'd laugh in his face.

This made me so upset. Who knows how long this had been going on? What about Eret and Valka? Surely, Valka would not stand for this. But apparently, there were things about these royals in which I simply did not know. Still, I refused to believe Valka would have knowledge of this. Eret, maybe, but not the gentle queen.

Words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. "How can you live like this?"

Hiccup's brow scrunched together as an amused smile played on his face. "We've talked about this. All I've known is this castle." He twirled with a loose string on his black shirt, distracting himself from me. "I don't leave that often."

I shook my head, starting to wake up more. He might not have known exactly what I was talking about with that one statement, but he should've. I wanted him to plead me for help, help away from the monstrous secret looming over his head.

I took a step toward him. I noticed a flaky spot near his eyebrow, which made my mind race. That wasn't just a piece of skin that was peeling, I knew what that was. When I touched his face gently, he flinched away, accidentally pressing my finger harder next to his eye. Hiccup gave a small shout of pain, and I looked at my finger. As I had expected.

It was makeup.

I looked at his face closer. The makeup had smeared, barely revealing a small, barely-noticeable light purple smudge underneath it. I buried my face in my hands and the very thing that had just confirmed my suspicions.

"What was that for?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"I heard you and your dad earlier today," I said, taking a shaky breath in. Hiccup's eyes widened slightly in realization, but I admitted, he was clever and recovered from it quickly. He made an effort to look relaxed on the bed, pretending like he had no idea what I was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I talk to my dad a lot," he said. Anger grew rapidly in an instant. Why was he not telling me this? What was he doing?

"Hiccup, I _heard_ him! I _heard_ him hit you!" I whispered shakily. "I know what I heard. How could you not tell me this?!"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. I didn't know why he was getting angry. I wanted to help him. I didn't want him to live his life like this, in pain and fear, or what I assumed it to be.

"How could I not tell you?" he asked angrily. "I've only known you for a week, and you're expecting me to let my family secrets out to you?" He sat up off of the bed, brushing himself off. "You're a stranger here. You can't just barge in and change everything because you think it's wrong."

"But abuse _is_ wrong!" I shouted out, wanting him so badly to just listen to my reasoning. But from what I had seen of him so far, once he got rambling, there was no stopping him.

"I'm _not_ being abused! If anything, you're abusing me right now with your words!"

" _Bullshit_. Why can't you tell me what's going on?"

"Astrid, you don't know anything about me or my dad. Stop acting like you do," Hiccup growled. "You're not the perfect little angel that you think you are."

Where the hell did that come from? "I just want to help you!"

"I don't _need_ help, damn it!" shouted Hiccup. "I'm a prince! I can handle myself fine, I don't need you to monitor me!"

"How am I supposed to know that after what I heard today? After what Stoick said to you?! Does anyone else know about this?!"

"It's not your place to ask about the king is it, now? You're just a Seven, after all. You don't belong in this castle." Hiccup pulled on his cap with that, glancing back with frustration, hurt, and anger in his eyes. He opened up the window and climbed to the roof. I couldn't even respond to him, he was gone so quick and I was too stunned to speak.

How _dare_ he?! What _right_ did he have to insult me on my previous caste? After all, I was technically a Three, since the Selection promoted me. I paced around my room, trying to let my anger seethe out of my pores as I stomped. I didn't want to scream, someone would come into my room. I could not be disturbed.

It was totally a Hiccup move, though. He was too stubborn to admit something was wrong and that I was right. I _knew_ I was right. I knew exactly what I heard. This made me more flustered than ever, especially with Hiccup's jabbing insults still fresh in my mind.

Thinking about Hiccup's rudeness just made this little bud of hate in my chest blossom slowly into a full flower of disdain for the prince. I knew why he said it. He was just using me as a toy for a bit, he's probably off to see some other girl right then. I thought he was different, from the way he treated and interacted with me. But after all, he was still just a royal. Hiccup was just a prince who still had maids cook and clean and dress him, who was still waited on for his every need, and who thought that everyone below him were _lowlifes._ And it made me want to pound my head in for believing his little act.

I screamed into my pillow all night. At how I thought I had actually made a friend, for once. At how I thought someone understood me.

I was probably being dramatic, but losing your only friend is hard, and after they had said such harsh words that they _knew_ would hurt you so much. After saying things that were practically unforgivable in my book. Caste insults were the worst you could say to me, for I felt like they lessened my worth as a person.

I wasn't able to sleep. I had pretended to be, though, when my maids came in early in the morning. I heard their gasps when they found my room a wreck; from the bed covers laying everywhere, from the vase I had smashed, from the papers from drafts of my writing thrown all over the room. I needed to take my anger out, and throwing things was my only resort. Immature, definitely, but it was better than taking it out on an actual person.

For the next hour, I listened to my maids lightly whisper and tidy my room up. The sweeping of glass and dusting of books and shelves relaxed me, but I still was not tired. I couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried.

Eventually, Jane shook me awake and I groaned, pretending to wake up from a deep slumber. My maids smiled at me big, while holding out a gorgeous dress for me. I squinted my eyes. What was the occasion for such a lovely dress?

"It's for the interview tonight!" said Jane. "We hope you like it."

The interview. Oh yeah.

At the end of the first week, the entertainers Bucket and Mulch host a mass interview with the remaining girls in the Selection. Eret and his parents would be there. I knew Hiccup wouldn't be, though. His father doesn't want him in the public eye, because of how much of a "disappointment" he is.

I had forgotten about it, and forgotten to think of some answers for potential questions they may ask the girls. The questions usually have to do with the duties of a princess and queen, which stump a lot of the air-heads that are there just to look pretty for Prince Eret.

I bathed and Jane weaved my hair into a casual braid. They told me that they wanted to "wow" Eret later, so I wouldn't be wearing the dress until tonight.

The dress was dark blue, with a silver glittering belt around the waste. The skirt fluffed out in a lovely pool of tulle, with sparkles scattered around the fabric. It was a dress that would suit my almost-plain style, yet it was intricate enough for me to stand out in the mass of girls in fancy dresses.

Jane zipped me up in a simple black dress that flowed to my knees. I thanked her and slipped into red flats to go down to breakfast.

At the table, with Anna jumping beside me as usual, I looked at the royal family that was eating their meals quietly. Eret looked smug, as usual. Queen Valka kept the calm composure that I admired. King Stoick sat, tall and proud, eating lots of meat and talking to his wife.

Watching this made me angry. Angry at Stoick. Angry at Eret. Even at Valka, a little bit. Did the queen know of Hiccup's abuse? Was she aware of the abuse her husband inflicted on her younger son? And Eret. I was convinced he knew. Hiccup hated him, that might've been a reason why. Maybe Eret enjoyed the thought of Hiccup being beaten.

Thinking about that made me want to vomit all the fruit I had ate. Even though Hiccup and I weren't on good terms at all, it's not like I wanted him to live in fear and misery. Someone needed to stand up for him.

I wanted to crumple in my seat. There was no way I could go find him and say sorry. The reasonable part of my brain, the tiny voice in the back corner, told me to. But the louder, stubborn, more _Astrid_ part of my brain told me to keep my pride. I refused to accept defeat. I wanted Hiccup to know he was _wrong._

I ate little and went back to my room. I sat down at my desk and put paper in my typewriter. I typed and wrote about my time in the castle. I wrote of the dragons and the princes and the food. I felt lonely and bored, I wanted to talk to someone.

Later, my maids cleaned me up and tossed me into my dress. They braided the crown of my head behind my bangs, and weaved it into a bigger braid that rested on my shoulder. They stuck glittering beads in my hair, making me stand out even more.

Dory brought in one of her friends, whom she called a "makeup professional". I had no idea there were entire careers for that, it would have seemed completely silly to me if I were still at home. But now that I had been in the castle and had exposure to royal life, I definitely understood.

The girl layered on foundation, which did not appear to match my natural skin tone. After it felt like six coats were finished, she enhanced my cheekbones with darker powder, painted my lips a berry pink color that were so far from coordinating with navy, and put on long, fake eyelashes that made my eyelids feel like tiny weights.

They smiled big at my appearance, and left me to put on my shoes and walk down. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and pursed my lips. Was this me? Was this who I was? The pretty girl with a cakey face, pink lips that didn't match the dress, and overlined eyes? I was thankful for Dory's friend's work on my face, but it was too much. I looked like a complete clown.

I took a wipe and scrubbed it all off.

When I saw my bare face in the reflection, I relaxed. This was me. I saw myself. I knew this girl. Somewhat, at least. The royal treatment hadn't gotten to me just yet. I didn't want to be like the other girls, with the crazy-colored eyeshadows and the over-contoured cheeks.

Noticing the dark circles under my eyes, I applied a tiny bit of concealer. I wanted to go as bare as possible, but I didn't want anyone to point out how tired I looked and how I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before.

Stepping out, I immediately saw that I was going to be a loner. A girl, if I remembered correctly, Snow White, walked by with a poofy blue and yellow dress with bright red lipstick. There was a noticeable difference between the color of her face and the color of her neck, which just made me embarrassed for her.

Another girl, I think named Jasmine, walked by with a slim and sparkly dress, with eyeliner that winged out so far it almost touched her hairline. I just shook my head; what were these maids thinking? How could they let these girls go out looking like this?

There was one girl who looked more plain-faced like me. She had red hair and bright blue eyes. She had a green dress and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, leaving a shorter layer around her shoulders.

"Not overdoing it, are you?" she said with an amused smile.

"I felt like I had a literal mask on," I said, the corners of my mouth twitching up. She walked beside me, both of us heading downstairs. I decided to introduce myself, because I deemed her friendly enough to make conversation with. "I'm Astrid."

"I'm Anastasia," the girl said. "The girls all call me Anya, though. They said that my real name is too long for them."

We walked together comfortably. She seemed like someone who I could get along with. She talked quietly about her family, who immigrated from Russia. She descended from royal family, but her family wanted to get away from the country to a new start. Her eyes were bright when she talked about them, smiling longingly. From what she had told me, she was very close to her grandmother and was missing her dearly.

"What about your family?" she asked.

My gut dropped. That was the question I was trying to avoid talking about. Not that I was ashamed of my family at all, I just didn't feel like explaining our caste and Anastasia thinking lower of me for being a Seven. She was a Four, after all, and her family was pretty well off.

"They're just a regular family," I said, acting casual. "Mom's a gardener, Dad's a mechanic. Have a brother and a set of little twins new to the family."

"Oh, neat," Anya said. "I don't have any siblings. I've got loads of cousins, though."

I was so thankful that she didn't ask anything about my caste. I had a smile on my face as we walked back, hoping that she would consider me a friend. It would be nice to have another friend, to distract me from the thoughts of Hiccup.

The castle had it's own studio, designed for television shoots and shows that were coming in. Risers were set up for the rest of us, the twenty-six girls that were left, so we could stand and look at Bucket and Mulch while they were talking to cameras.

As we were piling out onto the stage, I was last in line. Two guards were behind us, though they didn't sound like typical guards. They had young, ragged voices, full of mischief. They looked similar, but something about the one on the left set me off.

"So I told 'em, sis, _no, I do not eat chicken, my good sire!"_ grinned the guard on the right, revealing rows of crooked teeth.

"Indeed, my good brother!" howled the guard on the right. Wait… did the guard on the right say "sis"? I was so terribly annoyed by the two, I wanted to punch their skulls in. But I'd never heard of females being guards. It interested me, because it seemed like something that I'd be interested in doing. I turned around to confront the pair of guards.

"I didn't know there were female guards," I said, genuinely curious. Maybe if there were female guards, they would let females into the military soon. But that was still a distant hope.

The guard on the left smiled, which confirmed my suspicions. She was a girl. "They don't know that," she smirked. "I signed up, looked 'nough like a dude, was entered right away!"

I raised an eyebrow when they smirked and fist bumped.

When we piled onto the stage, the bright lights burned my skin and I felt more exposed than ever.

I got multiple looks from other girls, clearly judging me based on my lack of makeup. I waved them off, not giving a care. Anya was by my side, and I harnessed some extra confidence from her being by my side.

The girls' faces were quickly vanishing by the time the cameras were rolling, though. The bearded hosts barrelled their way onstage, their jolly voices ringing into their microphones. After a short intro, they went to each candidate, asking a question based on the duties of the princess. Every girl said something along the lines of "caring to the prince's every need", with ever-so fake smiles and high-pitched voices that sickened me.

When it was my turn, I had to remind myself: smile, and say what they want to hear. You'll be safe that way.

Putting on my brightest smile, hoping my parents and siblings back at home were proud, I greeted Bucket and Mulch happily. Their red faces were much sweatier up-close, and it wasn't pleasant being able to smell their breath and look at their crooked, yellow teeth.

"So, Lady Astrid, how does it feel being the only lower caste in the Selection?" Mulch asked, which made me smile even bigger. I wasn't happy, my rage was a glass of water that was just about to overfill and spill over.

But I had to control myself. Say what they want to hear, don't speak your mind. Just say what they want to hear. "It's an experience," was all I said. I hoped it was enough.

"I'm sure it is!" hollered the short, fat man. "Now, Lady Astrid, as a princess, what do you think that your duties would be to the prince?"

I took a breath and answered as smoothly as I could. "I believe that a princess should make sure that a prince is cared for," I said, repeating what I had heard from all the previous girls. "But I also think it should be her job to make sure that his duties are straight. She should keep him in order. She should make sure that he is safe, loved, protected, and productive."

Bucket gave me a smile and Mulch nodded his head politely. Quiet claps from the makeshift audience of maids, guards, and cooks sounded as I finished. I curtsied and headed back to my place in the risers next to Anya.

I knew who I was talking about. I was talking about Hiccup. I sincerely hoped that he was watching this in his room, so that he could pick up on my message. He would know that I wasn't talking about Eret. Hell, he'd know that I thought Eret deserved none of those things.

Anya answered her question simply, returning with a shining smile. My cheeks were beginning to hurt, I had to keep a smile on for so long. These girls seemed to be taking forever with their answers. I just wanted to go back to my room. I was beginning to feel the effects of my sleepless night, so I needed to rest.

The last girl was finished with a quiet and bored applause from the guards and maids. Bucket and Mulch were giving their conclusion statements, still looking as lively as when they started.

The cameras were just about to cut out, when the doors burst open and figures in black suits streamed into the studio with weapons.

 **Updates every Wednesday!**

 **Feel free to review, I love reading them! (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Review responses:**

 **Lyssah: Stoick has much more power than Valka. Hiccup visited Astrid because he simply liked her company. Your last question will be answered in later chapters (:**

 **Me: I wish I could update faster! But I can't update faster than I write, sorry!**

 **Maya: I don't understand why you're so angry about Hiccup having flaws. He's not a perfect character. He had strong emotions when Astrid hit a soft spot with him. Him having flaws doesn't make him a jerk and bitch.**

Screams erupted from the crowd of girls. Bucket and Mulch dropped their microphones and waved at the cameras to cut off. Maids and cooks huddled behind the guards, who were standing there nervously because they were outnumbered.

Girls were crying and squealing. They hiked up their dresses and crawled under the risers to hide from the dragons that had just barged in. Some girls didn't shrivel under the fact that there were intruders, though. Anya stayed by my side. I saw Tiana standing, with Heather near her.

"We have to fight back!" I yelled at them. I directed my words toward the girls hiding, too. "We have no chance if we don't help the guards! Toughen up and fight!"

I ran down the risers and grabbed one of the dropped microphones that went over our heads. I took the microphone off, leaving me with only the metal bar. It almost brought a smile to my face, thinking of my last battle with the curtain rod. Anya was close behind me, taking off her shoes and using her sharp heels to hit people.

The majority of the girls stayed behind, underneath the stands. I persuaded some to come out, though, like Anna, who snatched a guitar from the music portion of the studio. But the girls who stayed behind angered me. There were still dragons streaming in, their numbers growing by the second. If backup wasn't coming soon, we would be done for.

It was a tough battle. It was knives, bats, and clubs against heels, instruments, and rods. The guards weren't able to use their guns, in fear of hitting one of the girls that were woven into the mess of people.

I kicked off my shoes, the sparkly heels too hard for me to walk in. I stuck out my rod and spun around, knocking all the dragons near me to the ground. I was grabbed by my hair, tripped, elbowed, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to let anyone get to me. I refused to accept defeat.

One enemy came up behind me and grabbed my weapon and twisted it out of my grasp. It hurt my wrist to be wrung that way, but I got over it and punched my attacker square in the jaw. He swung the microphone rod around and smacked it right into my forehead, knocking me down and making me dizzy.

I couldn't get off of the ground. Pain seared through my head, my brain wasn't functioning. When dragons started to surround me, I could hardly focus. I couldn't fight back, I was too dazed to do anything but lay there and watch as my doom towered over me. One thing I did notice, though, was their eyes. I wasn't sure if it was the fuzziness in my eyes that impaired my vision, but they did not look totally human. Unnatural colors sent shivers down my spine. What were these things?

A loud slam caught the attention of the attackers surrounding me, and out of the corner of my vision, I saw a huge shape knocking down several dragons. I laid there until I wasn't surrounded anymore, before sitting up and rubbing my eyes. 

It was King Stoick, followed by Eret, that was taking out large portions of the intruders and sending them flying across the room. The ones that weren't laying on the ground, unconscious or even dead, were huddled in a circle that was surrounded by guards and looked down upon by the king himself.

"You filthy scum, stay out of my castle!" roared Stoick. I tried to stand, to see what was happening. When I reached my full height, I immediately wanted to sit back down. Between Stoick's red face, the frightened eyes of the intruders that were huddled in a circle, and the heat of all the bodies, everything was just overwhelming.

I started sweating and swaying, having blurry vision which made it hard to keep standing. All I could hear were the start of screams and cries of dragons as they were beaten terribly. I had only listened for a few seconds before I fell, smacking my head onto the floor and turning my vision black.

Hearing beeps and quiet shuffles, I slowly blinked open my eyes to gather my surroundings. White walls. Loud machines. People in light scrubs. I sat up, the papery gown covering my body feeling uncomfortable on my skin. I hated hospitals, I didn't want to be in one. All I had was a concussion, I didn't need an extensive hospital stay.

The doctor pushed me back onto the bed, though. She was an old, short woman with thick, light grey braids. She didn't talk to me, but rather gestured several times with her hands and her walking stick. I was confused. What was she trying to tell me?

She patted the sheets next to my right hand, making me notice a cast holding my hand in place. My eyes widened. I hadn't even realized the cast that was there!

"How did this happen?" I asked. I didn't remember injuring my hand. Sharp pains shot through my veins as I twisted my wrist some. The old lady, whom I assumed was my doctor, shook her head and rolled her eyes as she put my arm down on the bed. She slammed her stick on the ground, and a man hobbled over.

I could tell he was bald. I couldn't see the top of his head because of the helmet he was wearing, but no man's head is that shiny when he has hair. He did have a thick, blond mustache, though, that was braided intricately and fell as far as his chest. His underbite made me cringe, his teeth were so messed up. But his friendly eyes were the only thing that kept me from shriveling away from this giant of a man.

"Lady Astrid, is it?" asked the man, who I saw was limping on a prosthetic leg. "Gobber. Blacksmith, advisor, mechanic, assistant doctor, translator, warrior, yeh name it, I'm it."

He stuck out a meaty hand in greeting. I looked at it before shaking it hesitantly. "Yes, I'm Astrid."

Gobber pulled a nearby stool over to the side of my bed and sat down in it. "When yeh passed out, there was another small fight by the rebels in the circle. Shufflin around caused yer hand to be stepped on."

That made me shudder. First of all, there was another tussle that broke out and I wasn't there to help, and the fact that someone stepped on my hand so hard that the bones were crushed underneath their foot. I was glad I was unconscious and that I didn't feel anything. That was a type of pain I was glad to not go through.

Gobber and the woman, named Gothi, said I was free to go back to my room in the evening. I had been asleep for a couple of days, and my concussion was settling down enough for me to get out of the room. I lay in the itchy covers for hours, picking at my nails and flipping through pages of the magazine that was on the small table next to my bed.

After I ate the lunch that was brought to me, I heard Gobber talking loudly to another person. He sounded very happy and excited, I almost got up to see who he was talking to. But when they responded, I immediately halted those thoughts.

It was Hiccup's voice, one that I hadn't heard in a few days. He sounded normal. Which I still couldn't understand. If I were in his place and was being hurt constantly, I would have to fight back, or at least tell someone about it. I was wondering if Gobber knew more on this when the voices got closer. I quickly laid down on my pillow and brought the blanket up to my chin, acting as if I were asleep.

The uneven sounds of Gobber's footsteps kept walking, but the other's, Hiccup's, stopped. I heard him clear his throat, sort of awkwardly. "Who's that?"

Of course he knew who I was. He just wanted to clarify what had happened to me, and why I was in the medic's wing of the castle. It ached somewhat, he was obviously showing that he still cared a little about me to ask what was wrong. But there was still the weight of the derogative comments he made about me resting on my chest.

"Lady Astrid," Gobber called from the end of the room. "Broken hand and concussion from the fight the other night with the hybrids."

I coughed, drawing some attention in my direction, but I kept pretending I was asleep. Hybrids? What in the name of Thor were they talking about?

"I need to talk to Snotlout soon. As the head of the guards, he and Fishlegs need to come up with ways to keep them out," Gobber said.

"They'll always find a way in," Hiccup said. "They always do."

Squinting, so I looked like I was still asleep, I looked at him. He looked as regular as ever, with his messy hair and untidy suit. I had missed hanging out with him.

"With their demonic powers," Gobber muttered. I saw Hiccup grow slightly irritated at this, with a heavy sigh and a roll of the eyes.

"You know, Gobber, they only have enhanced senses," the young prince said, leaning against one of the beds. "It's not like they can actually turn into dragons. They can't breathe fire or anything."

"They come from the devils. It's all the same."

Hiccup rolled his eyes again. I saw him glance at me, but I could tell he didn't know I was awake. I expected him to look at me in annoyance, disgust, anger, or some other negative emotion, for how I spoke to him that night a few days ago. But he didn't look at me negatively. It was almost a longing look. The way his demeanor calmed when he looked at me made my heart soar, thinking he still wanted my friendship.

But I listened to my brain instead of my heart in this. I wanted to get up and apologize. I wanted him to apologize to me. But I restrained myself. They were talking about an important issue, one that made no sense to me. It felt like I was back in the beginning of the Selection, when everything didn't feel real.

The more they talked about these "hybrids", the more confused I was. People that had enhanced senses? Why did they want to fight the people in the castle so much? What was going on with them? How did they get their powers?

My mind raced with questions I wanted so badly to ask Gobber and Hiccup. But I stayed in the bed, acting as if I were a big doll, lifeless and motionless in the bed.

"Go back to yer room and stay there, boy," the big man said. "Yeh know yer still grounded."

Soon, Hiccup was gone. Gobber muttered curses about the hybrids while hobbling to the office. It was a lot of information to take in at once, humans with some powers storming the castle. Plus, seeing Hiccup again. I just knew, deep down, that he didn't dislike me.

But to clear my head, I rested and actually fell asleep for a few hours.

When I woke, Gothi gave me permission to leave. I got out of the hospital wing as fast as I could. I wanted to do something other than lay around for hours.

Remembering Hiccup in his room, I pondered while standing in the hallway. I knew he should not be alone, and he probably was. I needed his friendship, and he needed mine. I was going to go to his room to talk to him, and that was final.

Retracing my steps, thinking to when Hiccup took me to the royal quarters, I ended up in the main hallway and started walking toward their living section. I looked around, hoping no one would see me go in. I didn't want to be caught snooping around the king's things.

I was about to enter those doors when a voice stopped me from behind and turned my blood as cold as ice.

"Lady Astrid?" Eret said curiously. I turned around, smiled at him, and curtsied. I realized I was still in my hospital gown, and I felt very exposed in it. The thin paper dress suddenly was very cold and itchy. But Eret's face looked normal, not upset that I wasn't in a sparkling outfit with a pound of makeup on my face. "Just the girl I'm looking for!"

"Really?" I blurted, very confused.

"Of course!" Eret laughed. He slung his arm around me, and I shuddered. I tried to shake his strong arm off of my shoulders, but it didn't budge. I tried to control my anger. I tried not to have an outburst. But the pounding ache in my head grew by the second, and the sweat from the prince's arm dripped slowly down my neck and disgusted me to no end.

"I wanted to ask you out on a date, a dessert date, if you will," Eret asked, holding out his hand for me to take.

I chuckled lightly, trying to hide confusion, surprise, and resent toward the offer the prince had just proposed. But I knew I had no choice but to accept. If I were not to accept his date offer, it could be the end of me at this castle.

"Um, okay, but I haven't eaten my evening meal yet," I said, searching for any excuse to get out of this dumb date. The last thing I wanted was to be alone with Eret.

"Nonsense! I will notify the bakers immediately to prepare dishes for us. In the meantime, I can listen to your music! Piano, right?" Eret kept going on about this date. All I wanted was to go see Hiccup.

Eret pulled a maid aside and told her to send his message to the kitchens. She hurried along, in an attempt to get there as fast as she could. The prince turned back to me, his tattooed face bearing a big smile. I wasn't even able to say that I didn't play piano, nor was I good at music in general either.

"Shall we, dear?" he held out a hand. 

I smiled a big, fake smile, as much as I could muster. "I am not your dear." I silently cursed myself. I had to remember my plan. I had to fake it till I made it. I had to act like I was a perfect princess, and then I would let all hell break lose on this castle. "But yes, we shall." 

Saying this made me internally cringe. I didn't think I had ever used the word "shall" before. I just shuddered as I had to place my hand in his big, sweaty hands, and his fingers enclosed around mine, trapping them. He lead me to the royal lounge, where I had played with Queen Valka previously. There was still a warm feeling to it, but nowhere as close without the queen, and with this burly prince replacing her.

He pulled out the piano bench and gestured for me to sit in it, while I awkwardly stood. Remembering to where Valka had kept the flute, I walked over to the cabinet and opened it, and found the flute after a few seconds. I took it over to him.

"I actually don't play piano, I only know a little bit of flute," I said. Eret pushed in the piano bench and plopped himself on one of the luxurious sofas, in which had red velvet cushions and gold trims. He waved his hand at me, rather rudely, suggesting me to start playing.

I brought the flute up beneath my mouth and played a scale to start out with. The notes were shaky, mostly wrong, and uneven in sound, but the prince didn't seem to care. He was simply lazy and wanted quick and easy entertainment whenever it was offered.

I played the old nursery song "Mary Had A Little Lamb", and Eret smiled. I believed Valka was the kind of mother who brought the songs and traits of a regular citizen to the castle, so the princes weren't just raised by the maids in the castle. So they weren't only surrounded by money, food, and all-around luxury.

I started to play the song I had with Valka, slowly at first, still getting the feel for this expensive-feeling instrument. I increased the speed as I felt more comfortable. I tried to imagine being next to the queen, and with her playing piano, instead of me just playing with nothing but a terrible prince sitting in front of me. It was hard to do without the accompaniment, but I still got more comfortable with my music.

My notes started to waver, and I consistently kept pressing the wrong keys. I let all my breath out in annoyance and set the instrument down as the song was too ruined to keep on playing. Eret still clapped lightly, his awkward green-colored eyes showing pleasure.

"My dear Astrid, that was truly a work of art," he said, standing. He walked closer to me, and took the flute out of my hands and setting it down on a dark wood table next to the sofa. "A beautiful piece of music," he continued. When he got even closer, I had to admit, him towering over me in the way he did make me a tad bit nervous. "Almost as beautiful as you."

I was going to laugh, or retort to his words, because I assumed he was lying and that he had said that to every girl that crossed his path. But before I knew it, he was pressing his mouth- bad breath and all- on mine. The shock factor of the situation I was in had me paralyzed for a few seconds, which I regretted greatly because it meant Eret was kissing me longer.

When I regained movement in my limbs, I pushed away from him, wiping my mouth with my arm. I wanted to slap him so badly, smack that smug look right off of his face. He wouldn't let my hands go, though, even though I tried to tug away from him.

"What?" my voice and another said at the same time. I saw Eret's eyes narrow at the doorway, and I whipped around to see who just saw Eret kiss me.

It was possibly the last person I would ever want to see me alone with him. It was Hiccup.

 **Fave, follow, review! Updates every Wednesday!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Review responses:**

 **Carebear90, Anonymous Noob the 2nd, 33 - Thanks so much!**

 **NatBlake - Wow, thank you so much! This is a little surreal to me (Lol) because you are one of my _favorite_ authors for this fandom (also as a cross country runner, Running with Fate has been my fave for a while). I manage to update every week because I usually have 1-2 chapters written ahead of the published ones. I also keep them shorter, about 3000-4000 words, so that I can update faster and have a steady schedule. Thank you so much for reviewing! (:**

 **harrypanther - No, I don't make it easy on them, haha. I was kinda cringing while writing that kiss part, too, it was nasty :P . Thanks as always for your review!**

"What do you want?" Eret demanded forcefully at Hiccup. The heir took my arms and held me close to him. I hissed in pain, he was twisting my broken hand in an awkward position. Luckily, he loosened his grip on my hands and held onto my forearms.

"Just passing by," Hiccup muttered, looking me in the eyes. My eyes were wide with disbelief. I wasn't sure what his look meant. I think he believed that I was actually _intentionally_ kissing Eret. Not many things scared me- but that did.

"It's not what it looks like," I said. All I wanted was for him to believe me. I wanted us to be on good terms, and seeing Eret disgustingly devour my face was not how to do that.

"I didn't say it looked like anything," Hiccup held his hands up in defense, as laid back and casual as his usual demeanor was. "It's just Eret making out with another one of the girls."

My mouth opened in surprise. That was _not_ the reaction I was expecting or hoping for. What was with him?! To him, I was just 'another girl'? That was how he thought of me? He was being such a jerk. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to punch both Hiccup and Eret. I wanted Eret to let go, I wanted Hiccup to be nice, and I just wanted for everything to go back to how it was earlier, somewhat normal.

"Shut up," seethed Eret. "You are nothing compared to me. You are worthless."

And in that moment, all my dread toward Hiccup disappeared. All my anger suddenly channeled toward Eret, the jackass who _still was restraining my arms._ I gave a final tug, a pull using all of my muscle strength, and slipped free from his grasp stealthily, without hurting my hand more than it was. Eret was definitely stronger than me, but that did not at all make me weak. He was distracted for a second, so I took advantage of it.

"Don't talk to him like that!" I said furiously. Hiccup's narrowed eyes softened slightly, I saw through my peripheral vision.

"Why? He's a useless twig," Eret growled toward the younger prince.

"I may be skinny, but at least I do have some brains," Hiccup challenged. I had never seen the two like this. Of course, I had seen Eret like this more often than Hiccup. But besides the other night in my room, I don't think I had really seen Hiccup very angry.

His eyes returned to their narrowed position, his bright green eyes looking threatening. The corners of his mouth were turned down in a frown, and his fists were clenched in fists. Eret, however, his muscles were bulging out of his arms, his brow also narrow. Though the heir was bigger, tougher, and stronger, if I were being completely honest, Hiccup looked scarier. He looked like someone you would _not_ want to get in a fight with.

"Yeah, because your brain is all fucked up, you freak," Eret sneered. This definitely hit a soft spot with Hiccup. He took a step forward and stomped his foot.

"Just because someone is different doesn't mean they're 'fucked up'!" yelled Hiccup. "And just because you have more physical strength than me doesn't mean you'd make a better king!"

I didn't know what to do or say. These two were arguing about things that were beyond my reach, beyond my help. I couldn't intervene, I didn't even know what they were talking about. Why was Eret saying that Hiccup's brain was messed up? Something was happening, and I really wanted to know what it was.

"How _dare_ you!" Eret screamed. I backed up from him- his face was turning red and he took a step toward Hiccup. " _I_ was chosen to be king, not you _weakling!_ You're a fucking disgrace! Wait till Stoick hears that you _challenged_ my _right_ to the throne!"

Hiccup took another stride to meet till he met his brother, about half a foot of space in between their faces. They were both as red as tomatoes and shaking with fury. Me, the "Fearless Astrid Hofferson", was so terrified, I backed into the corner of the room to get away from the explosion which would become of these brothers.

Hiccup dared to inch closer, his nasal voice as serious and low as I've ever heard it. "You know, Eret, you actually haven't a _right_ to the throne," he snarled.

I let out a yelp as a sickening _crack_ sounded, and Hiccup crumpled to the ground, hitting his head hard on the floor. His eyes closed and blood poured out of his nose. Eret let out a scream of anger and drew his fist back. I crouched further into the corner as he paced around, letting out yells of rage. Still, after punching Hiccup and breaking his nose, his fists needed action, so he reared back and drove a deep hole in the wall.

I crawled to Hiccup and cradled his head in my lap. Blood dripped down his cheek and onto my tights, staining them red. He groaned softly, eyes still unopened.

Guards rushed in and even the king himself came into the room, looking at the scene. I ignored them trying to talk to me. I paid no attention to the ones who were trying to calm Eret, who had punched his fourth hole in the wall. I kept my focus on Hiccup, wiping the blood from his face and keeping his head elevated and tilted.

"Hiccup?" I whispered. I quickly shut my mouth after I had said that, remembering that I wasn't supposed to know who this was. I covered my mistake up by acting as if I were saying "hello".

His eyes fluttered, and opened just enough to see me. We looked at each other for a few moments, chaos erupting around us. He took a shaky, quiet breath in and said, "Ow."

I cracked a smile. "That was impressive. Scary," I murmured. His breaths were somewhat quick and panicky, so I ran my free hand through his auburn locks of hair in order to calm him down. "I'm sorry for what I said the other night. It's unlike me to apologize first, so please take this seriously."

"Me too," he muttered out, barely audible since his mouth was barely moving. "And for what I had said when I walked in."

I smiled at him, and he made an attempt to smile back at me. That was a funny look, with his mouth up and him trying to curve it upward. Meanwhile, blood kept rushing out of his nose, and I had nothing to plug it with. Eret hit him in just the right spot to cause the most blood to gush out.

When I was trying to find a tissue while avoiding the guards restraining Eret, Valka came in behind Stoick and covered her mouth with her hand in surprise when she saw her son. Looking at his parents, I thought back to the point that I was not supposed to know him. I wasn't supposed to know who he was or that he even existed. I knew I would have to put my acting skills to the test.

"What in God's name is going on here?" Stoick roared over the commotion, which immediately shut everyone up.

"He's a traitor! A FREAK! KILL HIM!" Eret screeched, trying to get away from the guards' grip. His beet red face and the eyes bulging out of head made for quite the scene.

I looked to the king and queen and bowed my head. "If I may, Your Majesties." Valka nodded and took my place caring for Hiccup. His eyes closed and didn't open again for his mother when she took his head in her lap.

I curtsied, showing respect for the royals. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was part of the problem here. I didn't want any trouble with the king. "Eret and I were in here, the lounge. I was playing flute for him, and we were going to have desserts later."

King Stoick nodded, hand in chin as he listened to me intently. I knew what he was looking for. He was looking for a way to blame Hiccup for this. I was _not_ going to give it to him.

"I think this guy was coming in here to get a book or something. Eret kissed me, without my permission, and then a few comments were shared between them. Eret started yelling, then a minute later the other guy's on the floor and Eret is punching a wall."

"Eret!" Valka snapped to her outraged son. "You will treat these ladies with _respect._ Respect is not kissing them randomly without asking first."

I knew that I loved the queen. Eret just rolled his eyes and tugged his arms some more. The queen gave me a quiet apology for his actions, I only nodded. There was no fixing Eret, and I think that Valka knew that, too.

"He challenged my place as the heir!" Eret yelled, wanting so desperately to escape the grasp of the guards. There were at least five that had to be behind him, restraining so that he didn't pummel Hiccup's face in even more.

"What?" Stoick asked, his eyes hardening. The massive man looked over to me for confirmation. I wasn't going to give Eret what he wanted. I was not going to let anything bad happen to Hiccup, no matter what. That was a promise that I made myself, with the unusual unstableness of this castle and the royals inside.

"No, he didn't," I said. It was partially true, I guess. He did say that Eret didn't have a _right_ to it, but it wasn't like Hiccup was saying it was _his_ throne. I was going to be as honest as I could, only bending the truth in order to benefit my friend. But again, there was no way I would ever let Eret win at this.

Stoick dismissed everyone from the room, thankfully not ordering any punishment on Hiccup. Or at least, that I knew of. I told myself that I would keep an eye on the younger prince, to see if he would be beaten unfairly for this.

Valka and an extra guard hauled Hiccup away, while about six guards had to take Eret to his room and lock him in there. Stoick stomped out, his huge figure blundering down the hall.

I was whisked away from the royal quarters by a handful of maids, who scurried me up the stairs and shoved me in my room. I didn't even get the dessert Eret had promised.

* * *

"Are you even listening?" Anastasia asked me. I blinked. I was so lost in thought, I hadn't heard a single thing she had said just a moment earlier.

"What?" I said stupidly, only confirming her suspicion. She just rolled her eyes with a slight smile. I shook my head, brushing my bangs out of my eyes. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"I would imagine," said Tiana, who was sitting next to me. "You should rest."

"I've rested too much. I'm alright," I said. I had spent the rest of the night in my room, laying in my bed and thinking. Sleep never really came, anxiety overcame me every time I shut my eyes. I was sick of being in my room. Being in the Women's Lounge even felt cramped.

Perhaps it was the way Hiccup's eyes couldn't focus on me that kept haunting me, from his concussion. Maybe it was the way Eret seemed to turn into some kind of beast right before my eyes. The way he shrieked and his powerful fists pounding into Hiccup's face and the walls. Maybe it was the hard gaze of the king, staring down at Hiccup. Disappointment was clearly present, even though I did my best to protect him. There were many secrets in the castle, things that weren't shown on televisions. They were all frightening.

"Maybe you should go outside," Anya suggested. "To clear your head. Be alone for a while."

Tiana agreed with a nod of her head. I took up their offers and bid them goodbye. Heading up to my room, I slipped on some pants and a long sleeved shirt. I was going to visit the horses in the stables and take one out for a ride. I figured that the fresh air would help clear my mind. I would have to be extra careful, though, only being able to hold the reins with one hand because of the cast on my other.

When I walked down to the main hall, I looked back to the entrance to the royal quarters. The last time I did that, the incident with Eret had happened. But looking around, I could see that no one was around. Eret wouldn't catch me if I went looking for Hiccup.

I took a step toward the royal quarters but soon remembered that he most likely wouldn't be in his room. Hiccup would be recovering in the hospital wing of the castle. Retracing my steps from when I was in the hospital wing, I moved quickly and quietly. The Selected weren't exactly allowed to wander the castle for no reason, so I tried to stay out of the sight of maids and guards.

I peered into the hospital wing. It was mostly empty. I saw Gothi sleeping in a chair in the corner. A few of the beds were occupied with patients that looked like they were asleep. I crept in, trying not to wake the sleeping doctor to draw attention to myself. I looked at the heads in the beds, searching for my friend. I made it to the last patient, and seeing his dark, shaggy hair, I bit back a smile and tiptoed next to him.

When I kneeled down by his bed, listening to his soft breaths as he slept. I watched over him for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet, sleepy environment of the hospital wing. It was a nice change from the fast-paced, noisy Women's Lounge. Thinking about it, I wondered if Gothi needed an assistant. I would gladly help her. I would much rather assist her at her job instead of having to be around a bunch of brats in sparkly clothing.

Hiccup had on what looked like a simple piece of tape on his nose. But I knew from when Gustav broke his nose a few years ago, the white slip of tape helped you heal. I saw that there were small boxes of medical tools around his bed, holding things as simple as band-aids and nail files to syringes and small packs of liquid medicine.

They really did worry about their prince. They had to take every precaution, even though it was just a simple broken nose and a concussion. This made me wonder why he ended up in the hospital wing instead of being treated in his own room.

I looked down at Hiccup again, and his eyes were partially open. I gave him a smile. "Good morning sleepy head," I greeted quietly, careful not to wake Gothi or the other patients.

Hiccup let out a small groan and stretched his limbs out as he woke. He sat up a bit, slowly rubbing his eyes and squinting. I knew he would be sensitive to light, after how hard he hit his head. He let out a breathy "what are you doing here" and laid back onto his pillow, covering himself with blankets.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay," I said. "I would have brought something, but I kinda snuck in here last minute, so I don't have any treats or games."

Hiccup gave me a tired grin and tried to sit back up, succeeding only after many attempts and several seconds of shuffling around in his bed. "That's okay," he told me. "I'll just survive on the gruel they serve here." Playful sarcasm oozed out of his words.

"Please. As the prince, you can get anything you want here," I laughed quietly. This made Hiccup's smile falter. My mind immediately started racing through thoughts on what I could have said wrong that caused him to lose his smile.

That was the thing. He _couldn't_ get whatever he wanted. With an abusive father, I bet he was scared. Plus, an older brother that could knock the living daylights out of you and is very unstable anger-wise. Thinking of the older prince made Eret's voice ring through my head. _Freak. Weakling. Fucked up._

"Why did Eret call you a freak?" I asked Hiccup. His expression darkened again, making my mind race _more._

 _Wow, Astrid. Way to go, practically ruining this kid's day. He was perfectly fine before he got here. Now you have to go and say all of the wrong things and kill his happiness. Great job. Ten out of ten._

Hiccup looked at me for a long time before sighing. "Can I trust you?"

My heart strained for the lonely prince.

"Of course," I answered. "You're pretty much the first friend I've ever had."

"Please don't start freaking out when I tell you this," Hiccup said, shifting uncomfortably in the hospital bed. "I need to know that you won't tell anyone."

"You have my word."

He nodded, eyes wandering the room. He took about a minute before he started to talk. "You know the rebels that get into the castle a lot, right?" began the prince. The hybrids. Yes, I knew them. I gave him a nod, urging him to keep going. "Well, they aren't, well, exactly… um… totally _human."_

My eyes widened, taking my acting skills to the test for the second time. Again, for already knowing something that I wasn't supposed to. I didn't have to pretend to be confused, though, the whole concept of "enhanced humans" seemed like something that would come out of a preteen's sci-fi novel. Maybe he would explain them more to me.

"They're what the people call _hybrids,"_ said Hiccup. "They… um… have bits of dragon DNA in their systems. W-which makes their sight, hearing, speed, scent, and strength all, um, _enhanced,_ so to say." Hiccup was stuttering and fiddling with his fingers. I was confused as to what he could be so nervous about. "The king really hates them. He wants them wiped off the country, even though they don't do anything wrong. They're automatically made Eights, and tend to live in run-down hybrid ghettos."

My strong emotions toward King Stoick increased by a lot. Before I was exposed to the reality of the castle, I didn't think about him much. He was an average king. Berk has a stronger military and better foreign relations under his rule. Though being in the castle now, and knowing how he really was, made me furious.

"The truth is," breathed Hiccup. "Why my brother and father hate me..."

I was snapped out of my thoughts immediately. All of my attention was then directed toward what he had to say next. This is the one thing I had been wondering for the past week. I was finally going to get my answer.

"Well, I…" Hiccup squirmed in his bed. "I-I'm a hybrid."

 **I know it wasn't the most exciting chapter, but exam week is starting and I have lots of studying and homework to get done, so my writing isn't as good as I'd like it to be. Trying to juggle 6 review packets along with everything is a bit tough, lmao.**

 **Updates every Wednesday!**

 **Follow, fave, and leave a review, I love reading them!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So sorry for the short and boring chapter! I've had next to no time to write, because of all the studying and exams going on this week. It will definitely pick up more soon.**

 **NatBlake- I've been running XC for two years now, and just earned my varsity letter! It's harder to run this time of the year, though, when there's ice and snow on the road and it's below freezing. Thank you for your review, and don't worry, there will be** _ **pleeennttyyy**_ **of Hiccstrid later on (;**

 **harrypanther- hope this chapter explains most everything xD**

 **Truelove7000- Yeah, Hiccup thinks Astrid is a totally independent, badass chick. haha.**

 **SmartyPants10- Hiccup is stronger than Eret because of his powers, he just doesn't use them that often. Eret is strong, but not** _ **that**_ **strong. And Hiccup is strong, but he can still get knocked out my a punch, haha**

 **TheNightFury- I'm not a fan of abusive Stoick, either, but it's a big part of the plot. Stick around for the end, you might be pleasantly surprised :P**

 **BrawlerGamer- *golf clap* ya guessed it! They know that she knows he exists, but they don't know that she knows him as a friend, or that he's a prince.**

Wow. Okay. Was _not_ expecting that.

"Please don't think of me as a monster. I'm really just a regular guy," the prince pleaded. I must've looked quite shocked, and I could barely wipe the look off my face. The fact that hybrids _existed_ were hard to comprehend. But Hiccup…

I regained my voice and reassured him. "I would never think of you like that." I wanted to say something else, too, but I didn't know what to say. What should I have said? This was a situation I had never imagined being in. And of course, I was true to my word. I wouldn't ever think of him as a freak. Even if I did, I would be losing practically my only friend.

Hiccup's expression relaxed some. "Thanks," he said. He reached to his bedside table and drank water from the glass that was sitting there. "So, you want to know why my dad doesn't like me."

"If you're comfortable with telling me," I said. "You don't have to." I _really_ wanted to know, so I could help him through these awful problems, but I would have to delay my curiosity if he wasn't comfortable with telling me. Being such personal problems, I'd let him take his time.

Hiccup sighed. "You deserve to know, I suppose." He sent down his glass of water. "I was born prematurely. I was a tiny, sick, baby. Though my mother was joyful, my father was disappointed. Being a huge burly man, having a three and a half pound baby was not his greatest accomplishment. And since I kept getting sick, they brought a doctor in and screened me. They found that I was hybrid, I had the partial-dragon DNA. My father was so furious with me, being born the way I was. That was not how my father imagined his heir."

I scrunched my brow. Poor, small Hiccup, being rejected at such a young age. But something else caught my attention. Hiccup said, "That was not how my father imagined his heir". I thought that Eret was older than Hiccup?

"He went around to adoption centers everywhere, trying to find the biggest, strongest baby," Hiccup continued with a sad look in his eyes. "A sailor came to him with a heavy baby, saying that he couldn't care for him. This child was born at ten pounds, a pride to the couple. But they were too poor and the men on their ships were getting sick. Stoick gladly took this child in, who was a few months older than me. That's how Eret was named the heir, and I was cast off."

He sighed, eyes wandering around the room, not wanting to meet mine. He looked out the window. "That's why his eyes are such a weird color. He looked nothing like my parents, so they gave him green contacts to cover his natural brown eyes."

I reached out and held his hand, attempting to comfort him. "Valka just let this happen?"

"Well," Hiccup said. "She, um, has always loved me, but like I said, my dad didn't. A week after I was born, he, uh, didn't want to keep me. She did, but she had to make a deal with my dad. It was either keep me and have Eret as well and have him be the heir, or have no children at all."

My mouth was covering my hand. I was so shocked at the character of this king, and what he was shaping to be. Getting rid of Hiccup?

"And no, she doesn't know… um… that my dad…" Hiccup trailed off. But I understood. Of course, Valka didn't know that Hiccup was being abused. The queen was not the kind of person who would just let that kind of thing slide by. It took a small weight off of my chest, knowing that the queen still had good morals.

"It's okay," I said, squeezing his hand. But I could barely fake it. It probably sounded very unconvincing, because I didn't _know_ if it was okay, or if it was going to be. Another situation that I thought I would never have to be in.

Hiccup sat up, straightening his posture. "It isn't though," he said, in a slightly more annoyed tone. "Not that I desperately want to be heir and king, but the fact that I don't want _Eret_ to have it. He's got major temper issues, and I often hear him mumbling about starting wars with other countries just because the prime minister's daughter didn't dance with him at one of the balls.

"And I know that I'm… well… sort of _weird,_ and I don't have many friends or people that like me, but feeling _unwanted_ is one of the worst feelings ever."

My heart broke for him.

I couldn't imagine not feeling loved by one of my parents, feeling like one despises me because of what physical shape I was in and how I was born. Plus, literally being _replaced_ by someone else's baby because of one parent's dislike for you.

"You have me now," I said, in a weak voice to cheer him up. "Hell, even when I'm sent home, you will _not_ be able to get rid of me."

* * *

The next few days had me thinking a lot.

Whenever I passed Eret, or saw him, anger toward him bubbled up inside of me. But I knew I had to keep the cap closed and contain my emotion, for I didn't want to give away that I knew something about him.

Seeing him at a meal, or spending time with other girls, I took notice to his eyes. They were definitely contacts, that was easy to tell once I had learned the truth. But I was a bit upset with myself for not seeing this earlier. I should have guessed after I had found out about Stoick and Hiccup in the first place, a couple of weeks ago. I should have known why Eret had a weird accent, different from the rest of the family. I should have questioned more the fact that Eret looks _nothing_ like the rest of the royals. After my conversation with Hiccup, the realization was so obvious it almost hurt.

Hiccup being a hybrid was another thing that was definitely less clear, but there were clues. How come I never questioned _how_ he got into my room in the dead of night, coming in from the outside of the castle? His room was on the fourth or fifth floor, and the castle roof had pillars and towers jutting out everywhere. He swung into my room with ease, too, and exited with the same enchanting, foreign grace. Inhuman grace.

I had made a promise to myself to get down to the bottom of these castle conspiracies and scandals. I needed to find out everything about Eret as I could. Once I found out about Hiccup's _real_ right to the throne, I knew that if I had any chance of stopping Eret becoming king instead of Hiccup, I would take that chance without hesitation.

Using my handy typewriter, I started to outline a rough draft of a first plan that I would need to take. I kept my papers hidden from my maids. Dory could be a quite curious person, so I kept them in my leather bag, which was one of the only things that they didn't touch, let alone clean.

The first thing I needed to get close to exposing Eret was a camera. I knew, from the casual chatter of my maids while they prepare me for the day, that one of the maids they work with owns a camera. Not of high quality, because maids are quite poor, overall, but it was a gift from her husband, who sent it to her from his work overseas. I needed to find that maid and snatch her camera, but only for a short while. Then I would return in.

Laying in bed, going over my procedure in my mind, I knew there was no way that I could tell Hiccup about this. He was a bit of a scaredy-cat when it came to this, he was not a risk taker when it came to his father. He _especially_ would be dead if he were caught trying to find what I planned for the near future. He would tell me not to do it, but my determination and stubborn personality would always win over him, even though he was great at persuading people.

That gave me an idea.

Girls around me were always mentioning wanting to see their parents and families. What if…?

My eyes widened and my mouth opened into a huge smile when I thought of an idea. I would suggest a _dance!_ A ball! It could be a win-win situation for everyone. The girls got to see their families, the royals would be able to meet them, and while everyone was distracted, I could search the royal quarters for evidence that Eret wasn't related to Stoick! I had to take this idea to someone. But who?

I knew. I would take it to Valka. She's practically the only royal, besides Hiccup, that I trust in this castle. I was even feeling uneasy about my innocent maids- wondering if they knew about Hiccup and Eret's throne drama. Valka would hear me out, especially after caring for her son. I couldn't wait to take this to her, but I knew I had to wait a little bit. December was approaching fast, and it would be much more appropriate if it were closer to the holidays. I supposed I could do a teensy bit of waiting.

The next morning, after a large breakfast, as I was walking to my room, Dory handed me a note with a knowing, giggly smile on her face. Confused, I took it, seeing my name in sloppy print on the envelope. I sat down on my bed, opening it.

The thick, cream paper was filled with big letters, looking like they were written by a ten-year-old. Go figure, it was signed by Eret. I guessed his penmanship wasn't his main focus at the moment, or at any point in his life.

 _Lady Astrid,_

 _Join me at the shooting range after dinner, six-thirty sharp. Bring a jacket and your best game!_

 _Prince Eret_

I crumpled the note, earning a few looks from Jane and Tina Bell, who were dusting the furniture around my room. I just smiled at them and told them that I was just so excited to be asked out on a private date with the prince. They gasped with joy and danced as they dusted. That was nice a nice feeling for me because all the maids wanted to serve the winner of the Selection, for pay raises and caste promotions. I was glad I was able to give them something to hope for, even if I knew I was going to lose in the end.

As I had known before I was even Selected, I didn't want to win. I didn't want to win _this_ competition. But being the incredibly competitive person I was, I had my own competition. And I was _going_ to win. To me, if there was a competition anywhere, I had to take place in it. But this one, to me, was not about winning Eret's heart. My winning goal was to tear down his royal place brick by brick until nothing was left but a pile of rubble. And let me tell you, Astrid Hofferson does _not_ lose competitions. I _will_ win.

 **This chapter was totally boring, I know. I'm updating between my world history and Spanish exams. But I'll post two chapters this upcoming week, one on Wednesday and one on Christmas!**

 **Follow, fave, review! I love reading reviews!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Merry merry Christmas everyone! Happy Hanukkah! Have a great holiday!**

 **isawalicaARROW and TheNightFury: Thank you! :)**

 **BrawlerGamer: Yes, this is going to be a big obstacle in Astrid's way.**

I slipped on a dark jacket, one that Jane said would block the wind. Dressed in a black blouse and grey pants, it was the most casual thing I could find to go out to the "shooting range". I didn't know what we'd be shooting, but it had rained the night before, so I wanted to be comfortable for walking in the mud.

I laced up my ragged boots and braided my hair and head out the door. Passing Hiccup on the second floor, who was designing a new type of pillar from what I could see. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall and using a lamp light to sketch in his book.

"Where're ya going?" he asked, not looking up from his work. I was glad I was able to find someone in this castle whom I was able to be so casual with.

"The shooting range. I have a date." I wiggled my eyebrows with a smirk, causing him to laugh a little.

He set his notebook down for a moment and looked at me with his amused, green eyes. "Well, I'll be praying for you," Hiccup said. "Forewarning, Eret sucks at archery."

"I'll keep that in mind."

We bid good-bye to each other, and I walked downstairs. So it was _archery._ To be honest, I was kind of hoping that they had a shooting range with guns. I hadn't shot many guns before, and I knew that there were lots of weapons used for security here. But I had shot a bow once or twice before, so I was fine with that, too.

A chilly gust of wind bit my cheeks as I walked outside. Burying my face in my scarf, I tread down the slick hill, careful not to slip. It felt good to have my feet in my familiar boots again, rather than sparkly, cramped heels and itchy sandals.

I saw Eret down the hill, in an opening surrounded by trees with a stretch ending in colored targets. The heir was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and flexing his muscles, pointing his bow at the target. He was so obviously trying to show off his strength to me, and rather than impressive, I found it quite amusing at how hard he was trying. And there was no way that he wasn't cold out here in this breeze, he was trying to act tough and was failing miserably.

"Ah, Lady Astrid Hofferson!" Eret greeted warmly. "I'm so pleased you could join me." He released the arrow, and it landed far from the center of the target, but at least _on_ the target. That surpassed my expectations for his skills, but I still had yet to see more.

I remembered that in order for me to succeed here and carry through with my plan, I would have to play nice with the prince and act along with his expectations. I needed to act this part for him to like me because I needed him to keep me in the castle as long as he could. So I treated him with a winning smile as I picked up the other bow that was laying on the ground next to him.

I notched an arrow, and drew it, feeling the string's resistance. I was lucky that my hand was healing quickly, or else the action would have been terribly painful. I probably wasn't even supposed to be using it as much as I was, but I felt fine and didn't really care. Aiming it quite loosely for a warm-up shot, I released and the arrow planted in the ring around the center circle. Pleased at my first shot, and being just a warm-up, I beamed as I saw mine so close to the center. Archery was never my forte, but I was still able to muster up some skill for it.

"Beginner's luck," Eret said in a joking tone. I knew he wasn't joking, though, he wanted to believe that he was better for me. The look in his eyes held no comedy. Those eyes…

It looked as if one of the contacts were slipping out of place a bit. The green circles of the contact didn't line up with his natural iris. I could see that brown eyes looked much more natural on him and suited his features better. I was going to put him to the test.

"I really like your eyes," I said, the corners of my mouth twitching upward as I readied another arrow. "The color is very unique."

Eret's eyebrow raised for a second, and he brought his hand up, lightly touching the eye where the contact was off. "Really?" He looked genuinely surprised that I had said that.

"Yes, I can tell you get them from your father," I continued, as I raised the bow and arrow up to aim. It was completely false that Eret's eyes looked like the king's. Stoick had dark green, almost a hazel eye color. These contacts were a synthetic green, that didn't go well over brown, and didn't look natural. I aimed and hit the center target. I didn't hit dead center, but it was still in the small circle in which Eret would dream of shooting.

Eret bit his lip. "Yeah, he's a great guy, my dad."

This made me wonder if he was talking about Stoick or his _real_ dad. Was his real father still a sailor? No matter how awful Eret was, I hoped his family still wasn't poor. Giving up a child would be devastating, I hoped they were generously taken care of by the royals.

"What's it like being an only child?" I asked. "I have three siblings, so I never got peace and quiet." I was really going to dig deep here. His adoptive brother wasn't really recognized as a royal. As I learned from flipping through several newspapers, the media's most popular theory on Hiccup's origins was that he came from a noble family who died, and Stoick was the godfather. Smart, I supposed, to cover it up. It made me think how Eret felt about all of this.

The heir gave a deep chuckle, his clutch on his bow loose. "Well, I'm surrounded by so many people every day, it's as if I have siblings." No mention of Hiccup, his "adopted" brother. It was a smooth dodge from my question, and he loaded his bow again. When he shot, he completely missed the target and buried the arrow in the trunk of a tree. Squirrels and birds fled away from the sight when the arrow struck.

Eret cleared his throat. "Shall we try a different activity?" he said. "The sun will be setting soon, it's always a nice view atop the hill on horseback."

Playing my character skillfully, I set my bow down and delicately took his hand, wanting to do anything _but_ hold his hand. These meaty paws were nothing compared to Hiccup's thin, calloused fingers. They were sweaty and dirty and made me want to soak in a bath. But I had to keep acting my part.

He lead me to the stables, where rows of stalls held magnificent animals. Well-groomed stallions, donkeys, and mules were herded into the stalls, with plenty of food, a clean-swept floor, and fresh water in a large trough. Even these animals were living in royalty.

Once or twice a year, if I had a day of work off, I would help out Gustav on the farm where he worked. The animals lived in a run-down barn, where the wood was splintering and rotted. It smelled of mold from the water it had soaked in from every rain for the past decades, and spiders would always fall onto your head as you were walking by. The horses back home had some hay and unfiltered water, which really showed me that _everyone_ here seemed to be treated like royalty.

Eret opened a stall that had a gold-engraved plaque over the door, which read **ERETSON.** Was that _really_ the name of his horse? How self-centered can one man _possibly_ be? I selected a small and friendly-looking horse named Sneaky. Maybe another time I would come back and try to ride a fiercer horse, but I still had a winning role to play.

On our horses, we trotted out of the stables and up the decently-sized hill. It got colder and windier, but I didn't mind. The slick grass was a bit of a problem, though. Sneaky's hooves kept sliding, and a swarm of nervous bugs were flittering around in my stomach. I was fine with climbing a slippery hill, but on top of an animal was a different story. Being crushed by a falling horse was _not_ how I wanted to go.

I wasn't an expert on riding horses, but I unhooked myself from the saddle just in case. It might have seemed weird, and I should have tied the saddle _tighter_ to myself, but if Sneaky was going down, I was not going to go down with her.

Eret was rambling on as he did so often for several minutes on the slow trek up. I wished it would take faster. I wanted to get away from the prince. I didn't want to ride down this slippery hill in the dark, either. But I had to suck it up. A little pain was nothing compared to the joy that I would feel in the outcome.

The buff prince was right about one thing: the view was quite spectacular. The setting sun cast mild pink and orange hues to glow on the silhouettes of the city. Planes flew in the distance and skyscrapers loomed over the earth, a view that I had rarely seen before. I found myself hopping off the saddle to take it all in further.

I was so awestruck by the sight, that until I saw the sun's last rays sinking behind the cityscape, I noticed Eret's arm around my shoulders.

I wasn't going to bother with this one. I pushed off his arm and repositioned myself on my saddle, eager to leave. Eret sat on his saddle and lead the way, back down to the castle.

Sneaky was very cautious on the hill. With her short legs and nervous demeanor, it took us a lot longer than Eret and Eretson to descend. I didn't completely mind, for he was ahead multiple meters and was a good distance away from me so that I could enjoy myself that evening.

I bit my lip when it grew harder to see. We were about halfway down, and I didn't know how far ahead exactly Eret was. The increased noises coming from my right side, the woods, made me a bit nervous. I didn't know what was in these woods, and I wasn't intending on finding out.

It seemed like Sneaky wasn't into that, either, because she practically started dancing. Her uneven prancing made me sway harshly, so I gripped the saddle tighter. I didn't want to go rolling down that muddy hill with a horse.

Sneaky let out a _neigh,_ and we started to slide. Tensing up on the saddle, I prepared to jump off. The horse tried to gallop, but she headed sideways toward the woods. When she started to tip, I readied myself and leaped off her saddle, but not before she toppled and my head got hit by her hoof. It wasn't as hard as it could've been, but I was still sent into the trees with my vision going black.

* * *

The chirping of birds caused my eyes to open. This definitely was _not_ my room.

Sitting up, I groaned a bit. There was definitely something with this castle and head injuries. Opening my eyes, I came face to face with a huge pair of electric green eyes.

Letting out a yelp and scooting back into a large bush, I was so surprised that I kicked the _thing_ in the face. It snarled, and jumped away from out of my face.

Trying to catch my breath, I sat up, still panting. That couldn't be. The black scales making down to a tail with two differently colored fins, the wings folded on it's back. I rubbed my eyes. It _couldn't_ be.

The dragon looked back, with angry eyes and thin pupils. I was so in disbelief, I couldn't find myself to be afraid of the beast. Berk, at a time many, many years ago, had dragons roam the land, but they had been believed to go extinct way before humans had settled here. Seeing this black dragon made me wonder just _how_ it got here, if anyone knew about it, and how many _other_ dragons could be here. Not just in the country, but in the very woods I was in.

The dragon's throat rumbled, and it latched onto the thick trunk of a nearby tree. Using its long claws, it climbed up and onto a platform I hadn't noticed before. Made out of wood and wrapped around the tree's trunk, I could see that it served as a home for the dragon. But I wondered who could have built this structure. Someone that knew about this dragon.

I stood, but not before noticing how much colder one foot was from the other. I looked at the cold foot and saw my boot was almost completely shredded. Scoffing when I noticed the teeth marks, I knew that this dragon had dragged me to its home. I was very upset, for I had worn those boots for several years. They were one of the only things here in the castle that reminded me of my home, and one of them was _ruined._

I was angry at this dragon. It was foolish, and I should've been afraid, but all I felt was fury coursing through my veins. I marched up to the tree and saw the dragon looking down at me. Wondering if there was any way up, I circled the trunk. Someone had to build it, so they had to get up there somehow. What I found was quite different, though.

There was a pile of wooden planks, most likely left over from the build. There was a small box that was next to the wood, and I opened it. It was filled with small tools, like hammers and screwdrivers. But something white caught my eye at the bottom of the box, so I pulled it out.

It was a notebook, with the platform sketched out on it, with notes and multiple scribbles and other designs. What was really surprising, and somewhat frightening, was that I knew this handwriting. I had seen it in another notebook before. I knew what style these sketches were.

This was Hiccup's notebook. Hiccup had built this. Hiccup knew about this dragon.

 **Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!**

 **Review, fave, follow! I love reading reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone, back with another chapter!**

 **Thank you to my reviewers:**

 **CloakedDragonWing3721: The name seemed appropriate xD**

 **SmartyPants10 and TheNightFury: Yess! When I first had the idea for the story, I thought about having him as a wolf or horse, but it's much harder to capture all of his personality in an animal other than a dragon for me (:**

 **Guest: You're right, it wouldn't be a date with him without something going wrong, lol!**

 **DreamMelody and Wstenfuchs: Great theories! But hybrids can't fully turn into dragons, so Hiccup is Hiccup and Toothless is Toothless. Very creative thinking, though!**

 **BrawlerGamer: Technically, Hiccup does have his own horse along with the rest of the royals, but it's really insignificant to the plot. I love Toothless and Hiccup's relationship, so I couldn't bear not to have him in it!**

Next thing I knew, I was crashing through trees and bushes to get out of these woods and back to the castle. I sprinted away from the wooden platform with the black dragon, which was a very uncomfortable action given my torn boot.

It angered me that the dragon had taken me so deep into the woods, I could barely find my way out. But when I stopped, I could listen for the distant noises of the castle commotion. There weren't as many birds, given the colder weather, so their songs weren't as overpowering and I could hear the shouts of a few guards.

As I ran, I noticed how I kept slowing down. I definitely was not running as fast as I could have. I stopped by a tree, holding onto it for support as I caught my breath.

Then the thirst and hunger came to my attention. _How long have I been out here?_ I wondered. I assumed it was simply the morning after the date the night before, but there was no way I could have become this parched and famished after a single night without food or water. And trust me on that, because I would know what that feels like.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the rough bark. I wanted to stop. I was a bit dizzy, and it was becoming increasingly harder to keep standing. But I trudged along, walking as fast as I could. I eventually came to a jog, when I heard a slight buzz sound.

I stopped and listened. I hadn't heard any insects before. Perhaps there was a swarm of bugs nearby, in which I needed to avoid. But when I walked ahead, there was no swarm of insects. The castle came into view, with all of it's magnificent glory, along with a metal fence that was humming with power and electricity.

My eyes widened and traveled up. It had to be at least nine feet tall. When I paced back and forth, I saw that there was no way for me to get through it without being burnt to a crisp. I sat back on a tree, looking at the castle. A small patrol of guards in their uniforms was patrolling the perimeter of the large back lawn of the castle. The horse stables were nearby, and I saw the hill where I fell down. That made me wonder how I got _into_ the woods in the first place. The dragon must have found me right by the woods, unconscious, and had taken me in by leaping over the fence.

I looked around. I really didn't know any reasonable way to get around this fence. I didn't want to call the guards over, they would probably accuse me of trying to escape. And that, most likely, would be considered treason against the Selection and the government. That was a pathetic way to die, in my book.

So, I decided to sort my unreasonable options. The one that stood most prominent in my mind was one of the most dangerous ones. I would attempt to climb a tree and use the limbs to jump over the tall fence.

Looking at the patrol, they had disappeared behind the horse stables, so I only had a little bit of time. Mustering as much energy as I could, I scrambled up the trunk of a tree that had the thickest branches. I was out of breath while sitting on a branch, but I knew that I had no time to rest. I shuffled along the branch, the buzzing electricity causing the hair on my arms to stand up. It made me nervous as the limb began to thin and bend down more with my weight, fearing it might snap and I'd land in the cracking fence.

When the majority of my body made it over the fence, I let out a little sigh of relief. But I knew that my work was not done. I had to make it down, safely, the eleven feet I was off the ground. It wasn't a huge jump, but I was in an awkward and dangerous position on the thinning branch. The danger of that situation increased when I heard an almost inaudible cracking sound. That's when I started to panic.

The branch was breaking. I tried to swing one of my legs around so that I could land on my feet, but the electricity caught one of my boot laces and a sizzle sounded. Another crack further back on the branch was the last straw for me, and I threw myself away from the branch and ground.

It was my right side that impacted the ground first, and I let out an involuntary scream of pain as my hand, the one that was still in the process was healing, was crushed (once again) under the weight of my body. It was some of the worst pain I had felt in a long time, as I could feel the mending bones snap and crush out of place beneath my skin.

I was fortunate enough that the branch didn't snap and land on me, but the force of the fall was enough for the wind to be knocked right out of my lungs. I lay, still, for several seconds, before more pain washed over me once the adrenaline died down. I couldn't help but yell out again for my hand.

I hardly noticed the guards coming by me, shouting orders. "We've found her, Captain! We've found the lost Lady!" With that, I was hoisted into one of the guards' arms and carried to the castle as they jogged and shouted into their radio devices.

I must've been a big deal if there were patrols out looking for me. I needed to know how long I was unconscious in the woods. How long I was in that _dragon's_ presence. I knew I had to go confront Hiccup, too. I had to ask him _why_ he had a dragon and _why_ it had kept me by its home.

I let my eyes close as I was rushed to the castle. I didn't really hear or see anything that was totally out of the ordinary, so I presumed that I hadn't been missing for too long. Thankfully.

When the guards set me down, I could tell I was in the hospital wing because of the creaky cot and the crinkling bed sheets. Murmurs and mutters swarmed the air as more people gathered to stare at me. I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want that much attention.

My eyelids opened a crack, letting my vision fill with blurry images. The first thing I saw was a fat black blob in my face. It reminded me to when I woke in the woods near that dragon, so I freaked out a bit and landed a punch in the center of the object. I hissed in pain when I realized that, number one, it was my newly more-broken hand, and number two, that it was no dragon or anything. I had punched the lense out of a camera.

I groaned into the pillow as my hand throbbed with even more pain.

"Tsk…" someone breathed. I lifted my head and saw Gothi, the castle's doctor. She looked at my hand and brushed her fingers over it, feeling it. It hurt everywhere, though, and I felt as if simply _taking it off_ would be a better solution to this problem.

Gothi shooed the guards and cameramen away from the bed. I was glad. I knew that the Selection was a reality television hit, but I didn't want anyone following me around with a camera just because I was thrown off a horse.

The old woman bandaged my hand up, making me grit my teeth. She left to go to her office, I assumed to collect more healing tools. But while she was gone, to my dismay, more people barged in the door. The queen, Eret, a short and stocky man I had never seen before, and a tall, fat man I hadn't seen, either. I mentally groaned, not wanting to talk to anyone.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Queen Valka asked, kneeling by my bed with worry in her eyes. Her soft green irises calmed me down as she looked at me with concern. The queen had an aura of comfort surrounding her, a motherly glow, which eased my anxiety as the two strange men stood at the foot of my bed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said. I kept forgetting that I was in the presence of royalty. I cursed myself for speaking so casually, so I quickly added on "your Majesty" to the end of my sentence.

A slight smile played on her lips. "If you wouldn't mind, we have Major General Jorgenson here to ask you some questions. You don't have to answer any that you aren't comfortable with." The queen's friendly tone had persuasive components that made it impossible to refuse. So I gave her a nod.

She brushed my bangs out of my face and stood, beckoning Eret to follow her.

"Lady Astrid Hofferson," barked a hard voice from the foot of the bed. I guessed that was the Major General, given his military uniform and stiff posture. He had unfriendly blue eyes and a large jaw, set to a frown. I could tell he was trying to stand taller than he really was, but I knew that I would be able to tower over him easily if I stood.

"I am Major General Snotlout Jorgenson of the Berk Army. I have some questions for you to answer regarding your recent disappearance."

I shifted in the cot, sitting up with a challenging look in my eyes. I knew it was stupid of me to look at him like that, at a top ranking officer in the military. But I was angry at the way he spoke to me. Especially since he looked to be around my age, and yet so much more accomplished and to rub it in with his gaze.

I wondered how someone like him, so young, got to be in such a place in the military. I remembered everything here in the castle has to with heritage and parents. He most likely had a father who was a noble and got him this job. You couldn't join the army until you were seventeen, and this man looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. It was improbable that he moved up in the ranks that quickly, so I had to assume it was his father who got him a job like that.

"These are purely based on security reasons," Major General Jorgenson said. "With the rebels infiltrating the castle so often, we need to know everything."

I gave a nod, and he continued. "Can you explain what had happened on the night, November the twenty-sixth, three days ago?"

I tried to control my surprise. I was out for _three days._ That was a long time, no wonder I was so hungry and thirsty. Luckily, as I looked to my left on a bedside table, was a bottle of water and a bowl of peanuts and raisins.

"Uh, well…" I started, not knowing where to start at all. After gulping down water and shoveling the peanuts into my mouth, I told him from the time that Sneaky slipped down the hill to when I woke in the woods. I left out everything about the dragon that I saw.

The Major General asked me more questions regarding how I got into the deep woods, but I said that I had no idea. I really didn't. He pressed his lips together in a thin line, and muttered, "Dad's not going to be happy", and left me in my room.

I ate the remaining food like a vacuum. The water was gone quickly. I had time to lean back and think. Or so, I thought. The door swung open _again_ and another person came in.

Rolling my eyes, I sat up to see who it was. I barely had time to register Hiccup's form before he launched me into a tight hug. Letting out a sigh, I clutched him close as he buried his face into my shoulder.

We embraced for a few moments, comfortable in each other's arms before he let go and sat at the foot of my bed. "Sorry, Astrid," he apologized, a light pink tint rising to his freckled cheeks. "I was so worried. We hadn't heard anything for three days."

I smiled sympathetically. I couldn't have imagined how he felt when they announced me to be missing. But that faded when I remembered the piercing green eyes I saw when I awoke. When I remembered the sketches that were so clearly Hiccup's that were underneath the tree structure.

"What is that thing in the woods?" I asked. His eyebrow raised in confusion before I continued. "The tree platform. For the dragon."

Hiccup's eyes widened as he pursed his lips. He noticed the tear in my boot and his eyes widened even more. "Did he hurt you?" he demanded, fury suddenly raising in his voice.

"What? No!" I said, shocked at the sudden change in demeanor by my friend. He visibly relaxed and let out a breath. But that still didn't answer my question. "Hiccup, you know that dragon."

He bit his lip, leaning back, before nodding a little bit. "His name is Toothless," he said quietly, looking around to see if anyone else was around. Hearing this, I scrunched my brow up. That was a _stupid_ name. When the dragon growled at me, it definitely had teeth.

"He has retractable teeth," Hiccup explained as if he read my mind. "I… ah… found him in the woods when I ran away for the first time. He had a missing tail fin, so I built him a new one, and now we're friends."

I couldn't help but raise my brow. The longer I stayed in this castle, the more ridiculous everything became. Scandals, hybrids, dragons. My life was much simpler as a poor girl who fixed appliances. A part of me wished I had that life back. But I knew that I would never get it back. My life, even when I was to be sent back home, was still going to have a spotlight on it. Suitors would be pursuing me, I'd have people looking up to me, and much more money than before. This made me a little bit sad, but I cheered up when the thought of the twins having a proper childhood shined a light on the situation.

"So, when were you going to tell me?" I asked, challenging him playfully. This clearly makes him uncomfortable, and I enjoyed it.

Hiccup scratched the back of his head, refusing to make eye contact with me. "That's a good question."

I laughed and punched his arm.

Days later, I was sitting on my own bed, a fresh cast on my arm. I was sick of having the same hand restrained all the time now, I wanted to write. I was limited by so many things with the bulky equipment on my hand. It was hard to eat, drink, bathe, put on clothes, and more.

Hiccup was sitting on the chair at my desk, telling me more about Toothless, his dragon. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his "best friend" was amusing. According to him, there were still a few wild dragons that roamed around. They were extremely endangered, though, and hardly anyone knew about them, except for hybrids.

"Most of them live in the camps, though," he said, distracted by a pencil he was fiddling in his hands. "Not many of them stray far."

"Camps?" I said. Hiccup looked up, as if realizing what he just said.

"Nevermind," he responded quickly, focusing on his pencil, all too nervously.

I threw a slipper at him, which grabbed his attention. "What camps?"

He sighed, tossing his pencil back on my desk. "There's no hiding anything from you, is there?"

 **Thanks for reading! Sorry this one wasn't as exciting, it was more on the filler side. :/**

 **Fave, follow, review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I usually post chapters earlier in the morning, but I slept in :P sorry about that lol**

 **Review responses:**

 **Guest: I hope this chapter answers your questions xD**

 **ralph: Thank you very much! I appreciate you for sticking around (: Your support means the world to me!**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: This isn't a whole lot, but there will be more later!**

The sunlight leaked from the open patches in the foliage, warming my skin at the contact. It was a particularly chilly day as winter grew nearer by the day. The soil was squishy and moist beneath my feet. My boots almost sank with each step I took.

The province of Angeles was further south and on the west coast of the country, making it much warmer than my home in Dakota. It was still cold here, enough for me to clutch my jacket closer and hug my sides tighter, but the temperatures weren't low enough to freeze your fingers off right as you stepped outside. Back home, there were many times where I would work late in the shop. I had to do so in order to provide more money for heating in our small house, and also because it was simply warmer there. Being up north during the winter was difficult. I was glad that I was in a warmer climate and that my family had more money for warmth.

Hiccup led me through the dense trees, occasionally swatting a branch out of the way. When we first left the castle, he brought me behind the stables where no one could see us, and he whistled a disturbing pitch. Loud enough for the dragon, Toothless, to come bounding out of the woods, but quiet enough so no one nearby was able to hear.

Hiccup climbed on the back of Toothless, which forced me to do the same, if I wanted to see Hiccup's "dragon camps". Toothless easily cleared the fence, and we dismounted him as he trotted away. We followed him, carefully stepping through the overgrown forest of large trees and thorny bushes until we came across the same wooden platform as I had encountered a few days previously.

"He brought you here?" Hiccup asked, surveying the area, most likely to check if anyone followed us.

I nodded, leaning against a tree. "Yeah. Dragged by my boot," I said, pointing down. I had asked my maids to mend it, for I didn't want a new pair. They looked sort of horrified, not at the destruction of the footwear, but of my "horrid fashion choices". Begrudgingly, they sewed it as best they could, returning it to me still in a torn condition, but somewhat wearable.

"I wonder why," Hiccup muttered, taking out his notebook that was on the other end of the tree. "And why he kept you alive." I pushed myself off the tree trunk and circled to meet him, seeing him flipping through his book. Sensing my confusion, he continued. "It hasn't become uncommon for a body to be waiting for me here. Toothless is very protective of my things."

I shuddered at the thought. No doubt, when I looked into those dragon green eyes, they were menacing and threatening. I knew dragons were terribly dangerous, but it was still hard to comprehend that I could've been shredded to pieces in a few seconds.

Hiccup tossed the journal back into the box by the wood planks and kicked it closed, hoisting his bag back over his shoulder, calling for me and Toothless to follow him. He walked a path that seemed very familiar to him, as he predicted each hole in the ground and branch that was in the way of the invisible pathway.

Toothless was a much different character, now that he knew I was friends with Hiccup. He bounded and pranced around me happily, tongue lolling out of his mouth and pupils wide with affection when I patted him. The three of us trudged through the thick woods with me not knowing where we would be heading.

When Hiccup said he would show me a camp, I didn't know if he meant a campground, a summer camp, a work camp, or any other kind. It gave me a wide variety of options to imagine while we were waiting. But from the noises I heard when we approached a dense barrier thicket, I knew that it wasn't any of those things.

A figure, standing outside of the wall of ferns in a black tunic, greeted Hiccup with a smile. "Always a pleasure, Lord Haddock." he said, icy blue eyes twinkling. I noticed that his eyes had the weird glimmer in them, the one that I had seen in the rebels attacking the castle, and even in Hiccup's eyes sometimes. This guard was a hybrid.

The ferns opened to a small tunnel made of the same thickets and thorns. We had to duck through so our heads didn't catch all the plants. I took our opportunity to say, "Lord Haddock" with a smile, which caused my friend to emit a groan.

"I told them not to call me that," Hiccup grunted as a twig caught his hair. "They won't stop because I come from the royal family, and I'm one of their leaders. It's annoying, I'm no lord."

I snickered at the annoyance in his tone. From what I gathered by watching him in the castle, he didn't like royal attention by even lower castes, such as the maids. It was funny to see him have no control over this. I stopped smiling when he dropped out of the tunnel and landed on his feet below. I slid my legs forward and pushed myself out as well, taking in the new scene before me.

It was a crater-like landform, stretching about two-hundred yards in diameter It was slight dip in the ground with short but steep edges that were guarded by the thorned bushes. It was lush and filled with greenery, with wooden huts woven through the flat space which was within the camp. People in neutral colored clothes were scattered amongst the camp, interacting with each other, gathered around a fire pit in the middle, or grooming dragons.

I stepped out slowly, in awe of the place that was set out before me. Hiccup looked back with a small smirk as people came to greet him. As I looked around, I saw that near the borders of the camp there were bigger, more open structures with hay thrown on the ground. They were dragon stables, for the ones that were in this camp. I spotted a few, maybe seven or eight, fluttering around the camp area. Seeing this many people being in alliance with the magnificent beasts was life-changing. The moment was quickly broken when Toothless lept into the camp and bumped into me, causing me to stumble into Hiccup, who was talking with a person in a beige tunic and brown vest.

"Whoa, Hiccup, is this... ?" the man trailed off, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. He was tall, about the same height as Hiccup, but he was _massive._ He probably would have been taller if he didn't hunch over. He had huge cheeks and a fatter body, but his eyes were delicate and soft. He was ginormous and utterly unthreatening.

A small crowd had gathered at that point. They all had that same glint in their eyes, the hybrids. Their irises were unnaturally bright colors, their pupils closer to ovals than circles, almost resembling a dragon's eye. They were all skin tones, hair colors, genders, and body types. There were huge, burly men like the blonde that was talking to Hiccup, and then a little girl, about as tall as my waist that carried a battle axe. I was jealous of that axe.

Hiccup waved to the crowd, trying to get their mutters and murmurs to quiet down. I knew they were all whispering about me. Their eyes told them I was not a hybrid, that I was regular. They were wondering why I was in their camp, why I was with the prince.

"Hello, friends," the prince called out, over the newly gathered camp. "As you may have noticed, I have brought someone with me today." He used his arm to gesture toward me. "This is Astrid." That caused more whispering to erupt throughout the collection of hybrids. They had heard my name before. I could tell.

Hiccup waved at them again. "Yes, she is one of the Ladies in the Selection. She is also an Ally, so she is not a threat."

"How do we know we can trust her?" a voice called from the back of the crowd. "Is she really an Ally?"

Hiccup's eyes narrowed slightly. "I have never brought anyone here before, I wouldn't bring her here if I didn't completely trust her." His fierce gaze made the questioner back off. The power that he was showing so early into the visit in the camp was impressive, especially since he had very little in comparison to his family back in the castle.

I tried not to smile at his words. It was a feeling of warmth that spread throughout me, knowing that I had a friend that could place their trust in me. I knew that I could trust him, too.

Hiccup beckoned me to follow him as he started walking, so I trailed behind him closely, aware of the gazes placed on me by these hybrids. Though they trusted Hiccup and were loyal to him, I was an outsider. I was from the castle, pampered by the maids and brainwashed by the nobility. They didn't know what I knew about Eret and Stoick.

There was a hut that was longer and sturdier than the rest of them, located relatively near the center of the camp, but pushed slightly back so there was room around it. Hiccup looked back at me when he entered, giving me a small but reassuring smile. I was thankful for that, because the loud voices that were coming out of the tent made me nervous. Butterflies flitted in my gut and anxiety tightened my chest as Hiccup lead me in.

It smelled of earth. The dirt ground was covered with home-woven rugs of varying pattern and design, adding flashes of color to the dark brown walls constructed of mud and sticks. There was a wooden table in the middle of the hut, with a few chairs here and there. There were a few people gathered around, talking loudly. They all stopped when they saw Hiccup and me.

"Lord Haddock," said the person in the middle of the table, who was short with dark hair and blue eyes. I realized quickly he was Major General Jorgenson, the same young man who had questioned me on my encounter in the woods. What on earth was a _military official_ doing in the _rebel_ camp? I wondered.

"Snot, you know not to call me that," Hiccup said, pulling a chair back and sitting in it.

"I do it to annoy you," snickered Major General Jorgenson. "And it works." He sat in his own chair and leaned back, kicking his feet up on the table. "So, what brings Lady Hofferson here on this lovely afternoon?" He asked, directing his question toward me.

"She's with the rebellion," Hiccup said.

"I knew there was something different about her," another voice said. I noticed the two other people in the room looked oddly similar. It hatched in my brain that they were the two guards from the interview with all the girls together. The one female guard and her brother who liked chicken. Right.

"You're right, sis," agreed the male guard. "I can see the destruction in her eyes!" The blondes huddled closer to each other and gossiped about how they predicted I was going to end up in their rebel camp.

I rolled my eyes and focused back on the Major General. It appalled me to think that the man in charge of all the guards was a part of the resistance that frequently attacked the castle. But that made me think harder. If the castle didn't know he was a rebel, then it was definitely easier for the rebels to get inside the castle. Jorgenson most likely manipulated the guard schedules to fit around the attacks! That's how the castle was infiltrated so often. That clever bastard.

"Sorry about the yelling earlier this week," Jorgenson said casually to me, playing with a pen. "Had to act all serious 'n shit for the boss." He laughed at that and tossed the pen back behind him.

"It's fine," I said slowly. The way he was speaking now was very different from how he was shouting at me a few days ago in my hospital bed. He didn't sound military at _all,_ let alone a higher ranking that controlled thousands of people. He sounded like one of the football jocks that used to walk around my town and throw eggs at people's houses.

I was still confused as to how he could be a part of this and not be caught. Surely the security would have caught him? Wait… he controlled security. "How can you work here _and_ for the rebels, too?" I asked.

Jorgenson whistled. "Dad's the general, so I got the job. Just gotta play the part, make security around my time of leaving." He leaned forward with a dark smirk. "The old man and the king have _no_ idea."

I looked at Hiccup, but his expression didn't say anything. He didn't look as if he were planning to say anything, either. So I went ahead. "Do the rebels have anything in mind about exposing Eret, and having Hiccup placed as the rightful heir?"

I could feel Hiccup's change in expression as his eyes bore into the side of my face. I don't think he thought that I was thinking much of the topic. Jorgenson just nodded while scratching his chin.

"Yeah, but we don't know where the files would be kept. We've tried to search for them, but we're always caught," he explained.

"Well, what if there was a big distraction for everyone, so they didn't know you were searching for the files?" I said. I told them about my ideas for hosting a ball, so that the royals, guards, and Selected would all be occupied while the search for the files commenced.

I could almost hear Hiccup's silent disbelief with me as I finished. Major General Jorgenson looked at me with a look of admiration, saying, "Haddock, this pretty one's got some good ideas." He leaned forward again to come closer to me. "From now on, you can call me Snotlout. Snotty and Snottykins are not off-limits, either."

I couldn't react to what Snotlout had just told me before Hiccup said, "Do _not_ call her that." Sternness and a sense of protection coated his voice, and I was thankful. I looked at him, thanking him with my eyes, and he nodded.

Snotlout leaned back with his hands up defensively. "My bad, my bad. No need to get your panties in a twist. Lady Astrid, you talk to the queen about the ball. She likes you, and will want to hear it from one of the Selected, not a guard or prince. I'll start planning the attack with the rebels and guards."

* * *

Hiccup and I walked out of the camp in fairly good moods. Or at least, I did. I was glad that Snotlout liked my idea of the dance. It made me happy to get a chance for Hiccup to have his rightful place as the heir to Berk's throne. The hybrids could finally live in peace.

"Does anyone else know that the camp is there? It's so close to the castle," I said, letting out my thinking for the past hour.

"Not that we know of. It's a few miles into the woods, and no one goes beyond the fence. Not even the guards," Hiccup said. "It's far enough for them not to know we're here, but close enough to have quick retreats from the castle to camp." I noticed quickly that he referred to the rebels as "we" and not "they". I felt as if Hiccup had a bigger part of this plan than I thought initially, along with the proof of people believing that "Lord Haddock" is their leader in the camp.

"The guards don't follow them back after they've attacked?"

"No. Not yet."

I shrugged. As long as the royals didn't know that the rebels were in their woods. It seemed unlikely, but then again, they had no reason to venture into the forest, beyond the electric fence. I looked over at my friend, who seemed lost in thought. The expression on Hiccup's face was hard to interpret, but the way his eyebrows slightly narrowed made me wonder if he was angry at anything. "Are you okay?"

He shook out of his thinking state as we walked through the woods, Toothless padding behind us. "What?"

"You looked a little angry."

Hiccup sighed as we walked. It was a very enjoyable day, with a nice, cool temperature and the sun shining on our skin. The forest was humming with life, preparing for winter and storing food away. I wished that I could be one of those creatures, preparing for the winter, instead of being thrown into the world of royal scandals and castle drama.

"I'm worried," the prince admitted, looking at me with his enchanting green eyes. "I don't want you getting hurt."

It was hard to contain the surprise on my face. "What? Hiccup, I'm fine." Did he think I wasn't strong enough to handle myself out here? I was practically left to fend for myself back home. Of course I was able to handle some problems with the stupid heir and king. "I can handle myself just fine." I'd expect him to know that by where we were in our friendship.

"No, I know, I know you can," Hiccup said, obviously trying to piece his words together carefully. "But this is _serious shit,_ Astrid. This isn't cops and robbers or some little kid game. This involves treason against the kingdom and severe punishments. I shouldn't have taken you to the camp. This is all my fault."

I stopped walking, planting my feet in the soft soil. "What? Because of me coming here, we're going to make serious progress!" What was so hard to understand?! He clearly didn't think I was capable enough, and that made my blood start to boil.

"Astrid, if they found out you came here, you could be executed!" Hiccup's voice started to raise again. I hated when that happened. He didn't get angry too often, so it was serious when he did. "And it would be all my fault. I brought you into this mess." He started running his hands through his hair, in a slight panic. "You're my only friend. If anything happened to you because of me, I don't know what I would do."

I tried to calm myself down. There was no reason to get angry. I slowed my breathing and tried to get my fingers to stop shaking. My anger subsided and I tried to coax him down. "Hiccup, Hiccup," I said taking his hands out of his hair. "This is what _I_ want to do. I want to help. I've always lived on the edge, haven't I? The threat of execution doesn't scare me if it's helping you. I got into this mess on my own, and I plan on going through with it. So calm down, this is all my fault, not yours."

Hiccup bit his lip and nodded some, though his eyes were still upset. I pulled him into a hug to comfort him. I could feel his rapid breathing start to slow as he rested his chin on top of my head, able to do so because of his height.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I appreciate the thought," I said. I was going to continue, saying how I was tough enough to handle myself, but I let it go. He had that heard enough, I think I got my point across. I had a feeling it went deeper than just assuming I was weak.

"This isn't Dakota," he said quietly, continuing his thinking. He started to ramble, as he did so often when he got talking. There was hardly a chance of stopping his talking, now. "There are really powerful people here, who seem to know everything that goes on. There are eyes and ears where you least expect them. The nobles have more power than you can imagine, and are able to tear down everything you know in a second."

He held me closer before muttering, "You're not safe here anymore."


	14. Chapter 14

It was the two-hundredth time I had run the hairbrush through my hair.

I was dressed in a simple blue dress that brushed just below my knees. The maids insisted I wear it to see the queen. They also wanted to see me with my hair down for once, to my dismay, so they let my wavy locks down, cascading like a waterfall down my back. I kept a hair tie on my wrist in case it got too annoying having my hair down. I wasn't used to letting my hair down.

They put a diamond-encrusted headpiece on the crown of my head, to "give it a little _spice"_ as Dory notably commented. My bangs hung loosely above my eyes and tucked snug behind my ear. The maids did a makeup look that tricked the eye into thinking I was wearing nothing, for which I was glad.

I was to visit the queen whenever I wanted at this point, so I sat in my bathroom, in front of the mirror, and replayed my planned words. I said them as I brushed my blond hair, making sure I looked perfect for the queen. I wasn't usually keen on caring for my looks, but if looking nice was able to sway Valka into agreeing, I was all for it.

I set the brush down and gave myself a reassuring look in the mirror. I was Astrid Hofferson, I could do this. I could do anything.

I pushed the chair away and walked out of the bathroom, out of my room, and into the hall. I wore flat shoes, not heels, so I would be able to walk more confidently. I passed other girls on the way who gave me looks, but I ignored them. I had to focus on the request. She was waiting for me.

After walking for a few minutes down to the main hall, I met Hiccup at the doors to the royal headquarters. He bowed to me and offered his arm, a goofy grin playing on his face. "My Lady Hofferson, I am your unofficial escort to Her Majesty."

I took his arm with a humored smile and curtsied. "My, my, how lovely! I couldn't ask for better service!"

We walked to the lounge, the place I had been a few times before. Once with the queen, and once with Eret. Both were quite memorable, but in their own ways. One was a bit less of a, well, _positive_ experience, in my book.

The golden lights and plush, red carpets of the hallways still amazed me. So many expensive things, statues and paintings, condensed into small areas, such as a sitting area off of a hallway that held items worth ten times the worth of my home. Of course, Hiccup paid no mind to this. He walked casually through it, for it was all he knew. It was what he grew up in.

It was almost funny to me to think about the contrast in Hiccup's double-life scheme. On one end, he was an outcast that had endless riches and piles of people waiting to serve his every need, whilst on the other end, he was running a village of poverty-stricken non-humans living out of huts made from mud and twigs. The boy certainly did know how to get himself in trouble.

Seeing a few guards scattered around the quarters, it reminded me of the twins I had seen in the camp just two days earlier. It made me wonder _why_ they were there, along with Snotlout Jorgenson. What part did they play in the rebellion?

"Why are those blonde guards participating in the rebellion?" I asked Hiccup very quietly, before adding, "And Snotlout, too?"

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, before responding. "You didn't notice? They're all hybrids, too."

I blinked. Of course. "How have they not been caught?" I asked. "They work in the castle, right?"

"They've never been tested by a doctor like I was. And to be frank, Snotlout's dad is a real airhead. Nobody really cares to notice about the guards."

"Their raids on the castle…" I said, trailing off, not knowing where to start with my sentence.

"They participate in them to help the rest of the hybrids. They may seem totally selfish, and Snot is, but they all hate Eret. The raids are attempts to overthrow Eret, and or, find evidence to claim that Eret isn't related to Dad."

I nodded. This made me wonder how many hybrids actually worked inside the castle. It was a huge possibility that multiple maids, cooks, and other guards were secretly hybrid. Stoick and Eret had more people against them than I thought. Hell, one of my maids could be a hybrid for all I knew. What darkened the idea of multiple dragon hybrids in the castle was thinking about how many _didn't know_ there was a rebellion. They had to live their lives in fear of being caught with no source of hope. I sincerely hoped that there weren't many hybrids in the castle, for their sake, and those that were, knew about the rebellion.

We reached the hallway where the lounge was located. I took a deep breath and looked at the prince. He shared my gaze and nodded. I took a breath and bit my lip, praying that the queen wouldn't be able to see my nerves. I shoved my nerves down, rolling my shoulders back and tilted my head, getting the stiffness out of my neck.

"Astrid?" Hiccup called quietly. I looked back at him. "Good luck. And- uh… yeah."

I smiled as I entered the lounge quietly, seeing the queen sitting on one of the sofas. Her gentle aura hit me, calming the all the nerves I had. The last thing I wanted to be was caught. She patted the cushion next to her, so I curtsied and sat down slowly.

"I was told you wanted to talk to me," Valka said in her smooth voice.

"Yeah. I mean, yes, Your Majesty." I cursed myself for that.. "So, the Selected have been in the castle for around two, three months at this point, right?"

Valka nodded, so I breathed in and continued. "The holidays are coming up, and we haven't seen our families in a long time. I was thinking that a nice dance, or ball, would suffice. We could invite our families, plus more guests, and Prince Eret would get to meet our parents, too. You, Your Majesty, would be able to, too. It would be a nice change of pace from what we're used to."

After a few minutes of silence, butterflies invaded my gut once again. Had I asked for too much? It seemed relatively simple, but it was such an important part in the overall plan. It had to work. Valka couldn't be suspicious of anything.

"This is just a thought that I and a few other girls had," I said, not completely lying. I mean, the female guard had agreed to the idea.

Valka leaned back and adjusted her crown, thinking. I didn't want to look at her while she was thinking, so my eyes wandered. There was a mirror above a fireplace that was located in the center of the wall, between the two sets of doors. I saw myself and fixed my posture. I had to look perfect for her. Everything counted in this situation. Slouchy posture would not be acceptable.

While dwelling on posture, I didn't realize the queen staring at me. I spluttered as I regained my composure. "My apologies… Your Majesty…"

Valka waved it off with a smile. "No worries. It is a very creative idea you have come up with. I like it. You are such an interesting girl, I would love to meet your parents as well." My eyes lit up while she continued. "I'll have to get Major General Jorgenson to increase the security, but that shouldn't be a problem."

The corners of my mouth lifted when she slowly, but surely, gave her approval for the ball. She'd be putting Snotlout in charge, of course, he would work the security around the hybrids breaching the castle. Everything would fall into place perfectly.

I felt a little bad, though, going behind the queen's back. She was a genuine person with a lovely personality, who quickly earned my respect upon meeting her. I almost wanted to warn her about the attack, but I knew I couldn't. I wouldn't. Though I cared about the queen, there were hundreds of others that were depending on me as well.

"We shall invite the families over a week before Christmas, and they shall leave a week after Christmas, so there's room for visits and other celebrations as well," Valka suggested. "We can have a Christmas Eve ball! How lovely. Stoick will love the idea."

I quickly agreed to this and she sent me off with a smile. I had succeeded in this part. It was just the beginning of the plan. The pieces would soon start to fall into place.

I walked out of the lounge and turned the corner, where Hiccup was waiting. I nodded, and we set off quickly upstairs. He led me through corridors, up staircases, and down hallways, until we came into a small office across from a large conference room.

Hiccup entered and I peered in, wondering if it was really okay for me to be there. It was just Snotlout sitting at a desk with his feet propped up, so I walked in and immediately regretted it, firstly because of the odor.

It smelled of trash, sweat, and dirty clothes. A combination I would not recommend to anyone, _ever._ I had to cover my nose and mouth because of the disgusting smell. I didn't even try to hide my discomfort to be polite, I didn't care. I don't think he did either, because of the rest of the condition his room was in. It was quite a filthy room.

No, it was a _really_ messy room.

There were papers filled with sketches and outlines strewn around the place, books falling off shelves, a broken lamp, and even a dirty tunic laying crumpled on the floor next to a teensy window. I don't think the maids have ever seen this room before, and I was glad. It would've caused them nightmares.

"So, what's the plan, Hot Stuff?" Jorgenson asked me, unwrapping a mint and popping it into his mouth. He acted so casual when calling me a derogatory name, and it was infuriating.

"I will punch you in the mouth if you call me that again," I warned, no lie tracing my voice. He put his hands up in defense and I felt Hiccup smirk beside me. I shook my head and answered his question. "Families are staying for two weeks, starting the week before Christmas. The ball is on Christmas Eve."

"Good, good," Snotlout said, tossing the wrapper of his mint behind him, where there wasn't any trash can. Looking down, I noticed many small candy and mint wrappers scattered around, and it made me wrinkle my nose even more.

"Is that all?" Hiccup broke the slightly awkward silence.

Snotlout scratched his chin. "For the time being. We only have a couple of weeks to prepare, so it'd be good if you guys came to camp once or twice in between now and when the families come."

We were about to walk out before he leaned forward with a snotty smirk. "You're allowed to come over here any time you'd like though."

I was surprised that the sound of the slap didn't echo throughout the entire castle.

* * *

When Hiccup and I were walking back through the royal quarters to get to the main hall, the hybrid prince stopped abruptly, emerald eyes flashing.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was stopping for. But he then sucked in a breath and pulled me behind a wall. A few seconds later and I could hear the voices and footsteps heading our way.

I looked at Hiccup with wide eyes, and he had the same expression on his face. We would both be dead if we were caught together. I wasn't allowed in the royal quarters without an escort, and Hiccup wasn't allowed to be seen with any of the Selected. Matters turned worse when I heard the gruff voice of the king.

Right. Enhanced hearing.

The prince took my hand and we bolted. We started down one hall, but the march of a few guards halted our steps and we veered back around.

Hiccup and I ran to a hall that was somewhat familiar, but I had no time to process where it really was. He opened a set of double doors and flung me through, him closely behind, closing the doors quickly and leaning against them, listening for the voices.

When the adrenaline pumping through my veins subsided, I took a look at my surroundings.

We were in a huge room, with the outer wall completely glass and with a balcony that overlooked the golf course and the city in the background. There was a large bed that was unmade and desk across from it with notebooks and papers across it. It was a bit messy for a bedroom, but nowhere near _Snotlout's_ mess. I realized we were in Hiccup's bedroom.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Only place I could think of."

"It's fine."

"Don't mind the mess," he added. "The maids don't clean my room anymore."

"Why not?" That explained it. To be honest, if I didn't have maids, I don't think I would be able to find my bed, even with a ginormous room.

"I asked them not to. Partly because of the plans in my notebooks. I have a bad habit of leaving them out."

I walked over to his desk and scanned his work area. "I can tell," I said, looking at another rough outline of Toothless's treehouse.

Hiccup slowly dragged himself away from the door, concluding that the people passing by were gone. He started to tidy the place up, obviously embarrassed of his mess. But I didn't care. I was quite fascinated with his work.

There were sketches of weapons and buildings, beams and support systems of all kind. There were notes on different kinds of materials and structures, things that really made no sense to me but were nonetheless intriguing. Everything was so detailed and the artistry was fantastic, I couldn't help but flip through his book, looking at the time he spent on this work.

I stopped when I saw something quite different from his usual designs. There were two faces. A pair of human faces. A girl's face, next to a boy's.

She had freckles and a wicked smile with a few teeth missing. She wasn't a child, though, so she had obviously had those teeth knocked out. Her hair was a light color, but was huge, tangly, and stuck out everywhere. Her eyes were narrowed mischievously as the big grin plastered on her face. The drawing showed the figures' torsos, and the girl was dressed in a tattered shirt and vest while she was carrying a spear.

My eyes drifted to the boy. Looking closely, I could see it was Hiccup. Younger, though, maybe fourteen years old. His hair flopped more in a mop than its current tousled state. Puberty had definitely hit him hard, I could see all the baby fat he still had in the sketch. He was cute then, but I'd consider him handsome now.

"Who's this?" I asked without thinking.

Hiccup strode over and snatched the book from me, the tips of his ears turning a slightly pink color. I grinned as his embarrassment showed.

"I-uh…" It was funny to see him not able to respond. He clearly wasn't expecting anyone to see the picture. "Thanks. That's my friend, Cami. She's the Duchess of Swedenway, she sometimes visits with her parents on business. She wanted me to draw us a few years ago."

His awkward demeanor melted away as the day wore on. I decided to stay in his room, delighted as he brought out stacks of board games to keep us occupied for hours. He was usually better at the strategy games, but I was dominating at games that focused mostly on the luck of the draw.

As I hid in his bathroom, he had lunch delivered to his room. A plate of small sandwiches, a fruit bowl, and a bottle of sparkling water was laid out in a little setup as I went back into the main room. We ate happily while joking and chatting. It was a wonderfully relaxed day.

"What would you want to do besides architecture, when you get out of here?" I asked, tossing a strawberry in my mouth.

Hiccup scrunched his brow together. "As much money as I have now, I don't think I'll ever _need_ a job."

"Yeah, but still."

He scratched his chin. "I guess an engineer of sorts. Or a pilot. I like to fly." He closed his eyes and spread his arms out. "When I fly on Toothless, I feel like nothing in the world could ever bring me down. Sometimes, I can actually forget about everything that is happening here."

"Hiccup Haddock, the first professional dragon-rider," I joked, punching his arm.

"Oh yeah, you bet." Hiccup rolled his eyes and leaned back on one hand, a sandwich in the other. "So, Astrid, what's your big dream?"

That one was obvious. "Being able to support my family," I answered. That's all I had wanted for my whole life before.

Hiccup shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no, no, that's kind of already taken care of. It's been, like, ten weeks of you being here. They have a lot more money. You're a Three now." He returned to his leaned back position, looking me in the eye with sincerity. "I'm talking, if there weren't castes or anything, no limits, what would you wanna do?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek. I hadn't thought about that much. I never had time to dream, or to think outside of the box. I always had to be focused on the _now_ of every situation. There was no room for big goals in my life. I was busy, being one of the main sources of income for my family. I was a caretaker, relied upon every day for the survival of the Hoffersons. I had been filled to the brim with responsibility.

But now, I was free.

I hadn't thought about it much before that moment. No doubt that my family had more money than we could have imagined now. If one of those checks was able to support them for several months, imagine ten or eleven of those! Plus, I was had become a Three. I could almost any job I desired. I could become a professional writer or a real engineer. I was able to support my family even more.

Thinking of this, I allowed myself to dream.

"I've always wanted to fight for Berk. I've always wanted to join the military," I said, earning a blink from my friend. I let the corners of my mouth twitch up as I thought about myself as an officer. "I've always looked at the soldiers with envy. Their courage, their bravery, is so admirable. Them volunteering, their sacrifice, inspires me every day. I'd want to be like them.

"If I were in the military, I'd be a leader. I would lead a group of the best soldiers into battle, and we'd win every one. We'd train all the time, be hard-working and dedicated, but also be close knit. We'd be friends. Best friends. We'd fight the bad guys, come home to the good guys all intact. I wouldn't want any award, because fighting for my people is a reward enough.

"I'd be one of the first female high-ranking officers. I'd have a badass uniform with some gold pins or whatever, and little girls would look up to me." I thought of Ruby, the little girl back at the main hall in town. "Not because I want attention, but I want them to believe that with enough blood, sweat, and tears, they can make it. They _will_ make it."

I finished, a wistful look of hope on my face. That was my dream. I wanted a job that would be hard on me and test my limits every day. That I would enjoy and look forward to.

"I can see it," Hiccup said quietly, eyeing me. "I can see you in the uniform. I like that idea."

I smiled. I smiled big. I feel like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. The heaviness of taking care of and supporting my household was slowly fading away as the weeks passed. It was the _best_ feeling ever.

Not that I didn't love my family, of course. But knowing that, before the Selection, and without me, they wouldn't have enough money to survive. It was a lot for each family member to take on, and I was glad to free them from it. Especially Gustav, who still had some younger years to live out.

"I used to want to be a musician, ya know," Hiccup commented, breaking my thought train.

After eating, he told me to stay put while he went into his large closet. I stayed on the blankets he had laid out to sit on for lunch, curious to see what he was going to do. He then shuffled out, carrying a case made out of black leather and shaped in weird curves. He unsnapped the gold latches and pulled out an instrument made out of redwood, a long string bow following.

"I didn't know you played any music," I said as he positioned the violin on his shoulder.

"I haven't practiced in a few years," Hiccup admitted, pulling out a sheet of paper with music notes scrawled carelessly over it. "I'm rusty, but I bet I can still play some."

The room was then filled with sweet, drawling notes blended with quick staccatos. I hadn't heard violins played many times before, and it sounded beautiful. There was a very unique and powerful sound to the way he played, and I soaked up every moment I could.

Hiccup's brow scrunched when he ran the bow across the strings, focusing on the music on the desk in front of him. He was very talented, even if he hadn't played in a long time. His lithe body moved with the music, and he swayed to the beat. It was truly a magical scene to witness. Here was a boy, a man, who had everything going against him, his dad, brother, government, _everyone,_ and he still was able to make an odd beauty of every situation he was in. I admired that greatly.

A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth when the tune increased to a fun jig of sorts. His feet shuffled to the music, but being his clumsy self, naturally he got tangled with his own legs and stumbled forward. He paused, a bit surprised but then shook his head and continued where he left off.

I stood up and twirled around, the skirt of my dress flowing in a circle around me. I wasn't usually one for dancing- I was utterly horrific- but I knew that with Hiccup, I could be whatever I wanted to be. I let myself be embarrassed by the way I stepped to his playing and spun to the melody. I still wasn't used to wearing dresses, so it amused me every time that the skirt poofed and flowed behind me.

We started laughing as Hiccup's tempo increased and I moved faster around him. I was surprised that the exertion caused sweat to bead on my brow and I began to tire, but my feet continued to bounce and my arms continued to flail.

An abrupt halt in the music caused me to stop and look at the prince. I laughed when he stared, horrified, at the violin, in which a string had broken and caused an awful note to be sounded.

"Damn it!" he said, but with a smile still shown on his lips.

I couldn't help but laugh as his frustration grew.

After Hiccup had placed the instrument back in its place, we sat back on the blankets on the floor and watched the ceiling fan above us spin around.

Staring at the ceiling, the more I began to take in how expensive his room was. There were a few paintings here and there, but I could tell that a few of them were done by Hiccup himself. The floors and ceilings were lined with a gold trim, the countertops in the bathroom made out of the finest granite. The dark wooden chests and desks around the room added to the glory of the setting, along with the luxurious plush of the pillows and the mattress which were on his bed.

Even the platters that the fruit and sandwiches were brought in on were a shiny silver, with small intricate designs carved into the metal. The castle really overdid it on everything.

Hiccup noticed me staring at everything in my surroundings. He watched me as I looked around his room, until he said, "What was your home like?"

I bit my lip, thinking about how I would put it into words.

As a prince, he wouldn't have had a very great look on me if I had called it a "squat shack in the dirt", for what it really was. I tried to describe it best I could, but there weren't many positive experiences that I had with that house. If I could even call it that.

"It was wood. And tiny. A bit unstable, and soggy after each rain," I started, tapping my chin. The memories of my house were wavering, I hadn't been there in so long. "We had no bathroom, only an outhouse by the treeline. Best not to go there after dark. Two teensy bedrooms, smaller than your closet. The rest consisted of homemade wooden countertops, an old stove, a few chairs and a rug I made in school."

Hiccup leaned against the foot of his bed, propping his arm on his knee. "Sounds cozy." I wasn't completely sure, but I think he was being sarcastic. I didn't mind.

I shrugged. "It was all I knew."

"Astrid, can I ask you a question?" Hiccup said, tapping his fingers on his knee. "Do you even like it here? In the castle, I mean?"

I sighed. That was a good question. I didn't know at first, the first weeks in which I arrived. But I think I knew now. It sounded selfish, but I didn't have to always worry in the castle. I had three meals a day, plus snacks, I had a comfortable bed, new friends, and plenty to do, and something to fight for.

"Yes," I said, after thinking for a little bit. "I probably wouldn't be as happy if I didn't have you to talk to, though." I smiled. "You're the only one keeping me _sane_ around here."

Hiccup chuckled and looked out the window. I looked, too, and saw it was already dark. I had spent the entire day in his room.

"I should probably get going," I said, standing.

"I can take you through a shortcut," Hiccup offered, standing alongside me. A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes, and I raised my eyebrow. Hiccup laughed and walked over to the window, pushing it open.

He turned around, his gap-toothed smile ever so contagious. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

Next thing I knew, the cold air was biting me and I was on the roof of the castle, looking several stories below.

 **Ok, I wanted more Hiccup and Astrid bonding time, hence this chapter. I wanted to see them interact more as friends when they were alone!**

 **Please please leave a review! I want to know how I'm doing! I lovelovelove your feedback! Thank you to all those who leave a review for every chapter!**

 **Follow, fave, thanks for reading :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yikes sorry for being a bit late!**

 **Review responses!**

 **Guest: there will be about 10 more chapters, give or take a few**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Sorry for my slow burn :/ It'll be picking up a lot here soon!**

 **me: Haha thank you xD I lovee Hiccstrid's bromance-romance thing going on. Totally brilliant. Lots more of that coming. And I'm sorry this is taking so much of your time OMG! There are around 10 chapters left, give or take a few.**

 **Guest: Thank you!**

 **Nina: Thank you so much (:**

 **AlecGateway: Thank you so much! I really appreciate the review. It's really encouraging. (:**

 **Guest: Yes, there will be romantic Hiccstrid!**

 **DreamMelody: I'm glad you thought so! I am SIKED for the ball chapter, too. It can't come fast enough.**

 **DocWriter: Thank you!**

 **BrawlingGamer: Thank you so much! I always loved the idea of Hiccup being a violinist and Astrid being terrible at dancing! It was fun to write xD Thank you for reviewing so much, it means so much to me!**

 **theskrillrider: Thanks so much! Love the username by the way haha**

A guttural cry ripped out of my throat, filling the sky around us with a loud scream.

I thought that was it, that I was going to die then and there, on the roof of the castle with a cold wind rushing around us. "Oh my god, ohmy- omigod _omigod omigod!"_ I screeched, as I clung to him with all of my strength. My legs were around his torso and arms around his shoulders, desperate not to fall off.

Hiccup was laughing, carefree and joyful, and continued to run on the top of the roof with me in his grasp. The roof was extremely uneven, with different peaks and dips in it, with slippery shingles and loose rocks. But the prince strode over the rooftop as if it were flat ground, leaping, turning, and running.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Not that I was scared. Nearly every second, I'd look and see the ground passing so quickly beneath us, or see him jumping into a short freefall to get to another point in the roof. It made me sick, so I had to close my eyes to avoid spilling my meal all over Hiccup.

It was several minutes later when the wind suddenly stilled and the world stopped rushing past me. I cracked open one eye, and saw that Hiccup had stopped running. I was thankful, his enhanced speed made my knees turn to jelly as I had to sit down.

Hiccup sat next to me, lightly panting from the exertion. He patted my knee comfortingly with a goofy smile, and I rolled my eyes and put my head in my hands, trying to rid of the aching dizziness that came with the special ride. My head pounded and I still couldn't feel my legs. I was tired and annoyed at the sudden surprise, but all was forgotten when Hiccup nudged me again.

"You're not even looking at the view," he said.

Wanting to know what he was talking about, I lifted my head slowly, and a quiet gasp left my lips as I saw the sprawling land laid out before me.

The dull buzz in my head instantly ceased as I saw the cityscape, several miles out. The buildings brushed the night sky as small dots of lights flickered out, signaling people going home for the night. I could almost hear the traffic from where we were sitting, and thought about all the people stuck in their cars. People wanting to go home to their families.

Before the city, there were the forests, green and lively. It made me wonder how bare and dead the trees were back home at this time of year. These were alive, greeting each other, waving, living. After a couple of miles of forest, the lawns of the castle sat, too-well-kept and too-perfect. There was a beauty to this madness, of all grass being the exact same length and the flowers planted in exact distances from each other.

In the middle of this section was a lovely pond with a fountain in the middle. It reflected the moon's light and shone brightly through the darkness. A few ducks fluffed their feathers and sat leisurely in the water, floating along as they pleased. I wished I could've been like one of those ducks.

Confused as to how I could see so far out, I looked down. We were hundreds of feet in the air. _Hundreds._ We were on top of one of the tallest juts of the castle top, overlooking the capital city of Angeles.

I sucked in a breath and scooted back. I wasn't scared, so to say, just nervous. The roof was so uneven and slick, it was as if we could fall at any moment.

"Isn't it great," Hiccup smiled, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He spread his arms out and closed his eyes. "The breeze, the view, the _freedom."_

I brought my knees to my chest, hugging them. But I let myself feel everything else. The wind gently kissed the skin that was exposed to it, sending pleasant chills down my spine. The silence seemed to sing in my ears and the lights of the city danced in front of me.

I let my shoulders relax as I realized that it was just me and Hiccup. No rules, no guards, no one. It was strengthening, empowering. It truly was blissful freedom up here.

I looked at Hiccup and saw his eyes were still closed and he was swaying with the wind, obviously lost in thought. It was probably the most peaceful I had ever seen him. He looked like he hadn't a care in the world, no pressures or anxieties on his shoulders.

It made me angry that he was put through all of this. Not that he wasn't strong and capable, but this was too much for one person, one teenager, to handle.

"This is so stupid." I threw my hands up, kind of regretting my words for bringing him out of his nirvana-like state. My words were bubbling up inside of me, though, and it became increasingly harder to contain them. "Why couldn't Eret just pick some girl off the street to marry, instead of throwing us into all of this?"

Hiccup chuckled and sat up. "We have te find the perfect woman," he said, mimicking King Stoick's deep and slightly accented speech. "We have te pick one from ev'ry province so we can have te best heir, who is really right for te boy."

I sat back and rolled my eyes. It was all about the heir. The perfect heir. The method that caused the corruption and instability within the castle.

"How's your dad?" I asked. I hadn't wondered about Stoick abusing Hiccup in a while, and I was slightly ashamed at that. I wanted to look out for him.

Hiccup clicked his tongue and stared at the city line. "Better. I think." He shifted. "I've just been getting better at hiding things from him." I could tell he was uncomfortable with talking to me about this.

"When was the last time… you know…" Though I didn't want him sharing any information he was uncomfortable with, I wanted to make sure he was okay. He was starting to matter much more to me than I'd ever thought he would, and it almost made a pink tint rise to my cheeks.

The prince sighed and pursed his lips. He then lifted up the side of his shirt, revealing bare skin on the right side of his torso. There were a few uneven bruises scattered across his skin. They weren't terribly big, and I was glad that there weren't that many. They were faded, though still visible with moonlight.

"Two, two and a half weeks, maybe?" he said, shrugging. He looked at me, deep green eyes searching mine. "I suppose that… that it's kind of sad when I'm used to it by now. Two weeks is a while."

I covered his hand in mine when he let his shirt down, lacing my fingers through his. I gave him a small squeeze to comfort him. He traced small circles on my hand with his thumb.

He looked back to me again, holding my gaze. His eyes enchanted me, the oh-so-green color holding so much in them, looking at me with a look of care. It was almost dizzying how long we looked at each other, until I found myself drawing closer to him.

It was like I was hypnotized. I couldn't tear my gaze from his eyes, those beautiful, _beautiful_ green eyes. I had never felt like this before, being so drawn to someone in this way. It was confusing and exciting, and all so _wrong._

My breath was shaking, I had no idea what I was doing. A stirring of butterflies swirled around my stomach in a feeling I was unfamiliar with. My face was burning red as my eyes fluttered close and I felt his hot breath fan against my cheeks in a wonderful haze. I knew it was wrong, but found that I wanted it _so much._ I could almost feel the ghost of his lips on mine, until painfully loud chimes broke the trace.

We jumped apart, both of our faces burning. I had to hold myself steady from falling off of the roof.

"Oh… uh, I-I… sorry!" Hiccup stammered loudly. "I don't know what…"

I covered my ears as the bell chimes continued ringing throughout the night. And to think they were hardly noticeable inside of the castle, yet deafening on the roof!

"I- um, you're fine. I- _It's_ fine."

I could feel the awkwardness thick in the air as we sat on the roof. He fiddled with his fingers and I twirled the end of my shirt, both hoping that the other would say something. Neither of us did for the longest time.

Hiccup cleared his throat, the heavy weight of the silence between us wavering slightly. "I should take you back. It's late."

I wanted to protest. I didn't want to go back into the castle. I wanted to stay out here with him, without the flustered tension between us. But I simply nodded and kept to myself, especially when a bolt of electricity shot through me when his hands touched my waist and hand, holding me still while he leaped toward my room.

The speed still lodged my breath in my throat, but I was still too distracted to scream or yell. I shut my eyes again and clutched Hiccup close, wanting to stay there forever.

It was all too warm when we stopped. When we stopped, the ground soft. I opened my eyes, seeing the familiar setting of my room. I felt disappointed- I didn't want to be back here.

"They're probably looking for you, I'd better go," Hiccup said as he swung half of his body out of the window. I was furious with the way he was acting. He thought he could just _almost_ kiss me and then act like he wanted to be as far away from me as possible.

I knew better than to scold him. That never ended well, with experience from doing it before. I tried to clear my head, and said, "Wait."

Hiccup was perched on my windowsill, arms above and already latched to the roof above, ready to climb away. He ducked his head down, looking at me again. I tried to regain composure, but _dammit,_ those eyes of his just kept making me feel like I would collapse at any given moment.

I didn't know how to approach him or what to say, so I did the first thing that came to my mind. I punched his arm.

Hiccup almost toppled over in surprise, but balanced himself while rubbing his arm. "What the hell?" he complained, annoyance in his eyes.

" _That,"_ I started. "Was for kidnapping me."

A surge of confidence rushed through my veins when he rolled his eyes and started to protest. I then grabbed his shirt and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"That's for, ya know, everything else."

Dazed, Hiccup flashed me an uneasy smile and leaped away, a small rush of wind blowing my face. My cheeks continually grew warmer the more I thought about the last five minutes. I buried my face in my pillow.

My chest felt tight and my hands were shaking with a hum that was buzzing through my body. My stomach bounced and my head was cloudy. I was happy, though. Confused out of my mind, but happy. I didn't know why I was feeling the way I did, or what this was, but I almost liked it.

I laid on my bed for the next hours, sleep unable to catch up with me. I left my window and curtains open, letting moonlight into the room. I watched the clock for the most part, the light from the moon and stars making it glint.

The hours ticked by slowly, and it was _agony._ I didn't like being up very late. I hated to sleep in. I liked being up with the sun and ready for the day quickly and before everyone else. This castle was really taking its toll on me.

In the dead of night, I saw a shadow pass over. I looked out the window to see a silhouette against the moon, pacing atop the roof. I knew it was Hiccup from the posture and walking style of the figure. I smiled slightly as he ran his hands through his hair and kicked at the shingles.

Looking at him brought that feeling back again. The one that made my heart feel like it was bunched up and my stomach feel all jittery. The heat rose to my cheeks as I realized what was happening.

Oh _no._

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to rid of my thoughts. This could _not_ be happening. But when I shut my eyes, all I could see was green. The emerald green of his eyes. The syrup auburn color of his hair. The scattering of freckles, like constellations of stars in the night sky. No matter how far I pushed them, they snapped back, fresh in my mind, as if they were magnets.

I touched my lips, and the feeling of his breath returned and I shivered. It was almost frightening how intoxicating he was. How much I wanted to simply lean forward and fulfill my need for him.

I couldn't help but scream into my pillow. I couldn't be attracted to _Hiccup_. That's not how these _things_ worked. It was odd. It was wrong.

It… it was _treason._

As I tried to stop myself from gasping, the door slammed open and blinding light poured in the room along with many loud shouts. I covered my eyes but sat up quickly, scooting off my bed to see if I was in harm. If there were rebels attacking, I had to let them know that I was with Hiccup, with the rebellion.

I waved my arms, as my eyes were still adjusting to the light. "Hey, wait…" I called. "I'm not…"

I stopped immediately in my tracks.

These were no rebels. The castle wasn't under attack. These were royal guards, alongside my maids that had sore, red eyes.

"She's here!" a gruff guard shouted.

My maids let out a sob and tackled me, showering me with their tears as they embraced me. "Oh, my Lady, my Lady, you're okay…" they cried.

"What's going on?" I asked as I awkwardly shuffled out of the three's grasps. "Of course I'm fine."

"You've been missing all day!" wept Dory.

"No trace!" sniffed Tina Bell.

"We were concerned when you didn't show for dinner!" Jane explained, dabbing the blotchy parts of her face with her handkerchief.

"I was in the castle the whole time," I said. It's not like I was lying.

"Where?" A guard inquired, leaning forward. I wrinkled my nose at his unkempt mustache. I swore I saw something skitter through it. "We haven't heard from anyone where ye have been."

It was an accusatory tone. Being my irascible self, a growing animosity toward this man bubbled up inside of me before I could even help it.

"I wasn't in anywhere I shouldn't have been, if that's what you're trying to say," I sneered aggressively as I challenged his stare. I would not be threatened by this guard that was so obviously trying to boot me out of the castle. I wanted to intimidate him, make _him_ cower away from the eighteen-year-old girl.

The guard seemed unfazed by my attempts to daunt him. "How are we supposed to know that, with no report, _Lady Hofferson?"_

I rolled my shoulders back and stood straighter. I would not let this man overpower me. Not a chance.

"My bad, I didn't know I was on parole," I spat at him. He sniffed in disgust at me. I kept my look stern and unwavering. "I went on a walk. If you are so keen on knowing such information, you should inform the other girls before one is unfortunate enough to encounter you."

The guard growled. "I should have ye sent back right this instant."

I narrowed my eyes. "Too bad it's not up to you."

The guard stalked away and exited my room, with the rest of his policing posse. I dusted off my front and started making small talk with the maids. There was _definitely_ no hope in getting any sleep now. I wanted to make these hours as short as possible, so I wouldn't have to be alone with my dreaded thoughts anymore.

After five minutes of talking with Tina Bell, Dory, and Jane, they hugged me good-night and opened the door to go to the maids' quarters. Though when they opened the door, a loud _slam_ sounded, making all of us jump.

The four of us ran out of my room to see what the problem was. A huddle of guards, the same as were in my room, were standing outside of one of the doors to another girl's room. They were shouting, louder than they had at me. They sounded _furious._

I took a step forward. Something about the placement of that door, that room, seemed too familiar. Too familiar for my comfort, at the way they yelled and barged in the room.

Despite Tina Bell trying to hold my arms back, I strode over to the assemblage of guards and pushed through them. Despite most of them being full heads taller than me, pushing past them was quite effortless. I stumbled out in front, right to the doorframe of the door that was wide open.

The pink sheets were what gave it away. I remember her telling me, one of the first days, that she had asked for pink sheets. Next was the paintings. She loved to look at paintings, even talk with them. Something I found funny before, but was anything but humorous at that moment.

There were grunts, yells, and struggles in the room. My feet were frozen to the tiles they stood on, I couldn't move. The flash of strawberry blond hair made my throat tighten up. She was being _restrained,_ taken away. What the hell was happening?

"Get off!" screamed Anna. Black mascara ran down her cheeks in rivulets. Her nightdress was being torn by the guard trying to keep her still. I opened my mouth to shout, but Anna did before I could. "Let go of him!"

 _Him?_

My eyes widened as I saw a mop of dirty blond hair. A massive shape, a _man._ In her _room._

 _Oh, Anna,_ I thought. _What have you done?_

* * *

A man by the name of Mildew saw to the trial.

Was it his real name? Probably not. It was a nickname that was given by the maids, and it stuck. I hadn't cared to learn his real name.

His skin was ugly and wrinkled. His teeth were rotted and chipped and cracked to look like disgusting rocks placed randomly in his mouth. His hair was thin and stringy. It reminded me of the ball of moldy, grey yarn we had back at home. When he spoke, the gravelly tone he gave made me shudder uncomfortably. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

It was going to be a long day.

Anna. My peppy, outgoing, chirpy friend. Dressed in prison rags, her bright red hair dulled and tangled as she treaded out into the court. Followed behind her was the large man in a similar condition.

He looked intimidating at first, especially since he was one of the castle's guards, but his face really reminded me of a teddy bear's. His brown eyes were somber, but I don't think they were sad for him. They were sad for Anna.

Kristoff, the guard that committed treason. Anna, the Selected that committed treason. No, they hadn't slept together. They were sharing an innocent kiss, while Anna forgot to close the door to her room.

Though I knew the rules were perfectly clear, my fists still clenched and my teeth grit. I saw Stoick sitting near Mildew, with no visible expression on my face. That enraged me further.

The trial was fast. There wasn't much to say in defense. They claimed not to be having this "affair" of sorts, and I believed them. I could tell when Anna lied, and this was not one of those times.

I closed my eyes when they were to announce their punishment. The worst punishment for treason was, easily, death, and I so dearly hoped that was not going to happen. It wasn't _super_ serious in my opinion. It was just one little kiss…

… One that Hiccup and I almost shared just the night before.

My stomach churned. I wanted to vomit. I wanted to be out of this dreaded Selection already, before it ruined me and the people around me.

"Anna Arendelle and Kristoff Bjorgman shall be lowered to Eights."

I choked and spluttered. I rose out of my seat immediately, eyes wide with disbelief. This could not be happening.

It was almost worse when I realized that all of the eyes in the court were now staring at me, expecting me to say something.

 **Had major writer's block with this one :/**

 **Heyheyhey but Hiccstrid tho! :D**

 **It's about to get quite intense in the next few chaps, fasten your seatbelts fellas.**

 **Thank you soso much for all your reviews on this past chapter! I can't believe so many people actually enjoy my work. Your comments are my fuel for writing!**

 **Fave follow, review (:**


	16. Chapter 16

**Review responses!**

 **Skyblonde55: Thank you very much! I try to spell and use grammar to the best of my ability because it's annoying for me when someone uses it incorrectly XD Lol.**

 **Guest: Torturing y'all is my favorite (;**

 **me again: Thank you so much! That means so much to me. I'm trying to make this as complicated as possible and have it make sense. And don't worry about Hiccstrid. 100% guarantee multiple chapters coming soon! And also, I do write a few oneshots on my Wattpad, but none of them are published on here. I can start, though!**

 **gigidragons85: Thanks! Yep, I've read them! It's such a good series. I based this scene with Anna off of Marlee. You'll see what happens to her in this chapter!**

 **NatBlake: Slower burns are so painful to write. I want them to kiss, but I know it would feel a little awkward going so fast. One is coming soon, though! (; (; And yes, after this chapter, the real action ensues!**

 **Aiacco: That would be a really cool idea! But unfortunately, there really isn't a plan for Elsa to have a large role in this story. I haven't read all of the HTTYD books, only a few. Astrid isn't _really_ hypnotized, just kinda lost in her own thoughts. **

**Sonochu: Hiccup is used to being up on the roof, he's no stranger to the bell. The girl earlier, Drizella, attacked Astrid, which is strictly prohibited and is the only reason, besides treason, that you can be kicked out without Eret's permission. This was mentioned in Chapter 2 or 3.**

My voice was caught in my throat. The silence was untimely. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Not so much as a pin dropping could be heard, nor a rustle of a bird's feather. The wind seemed to slow for me, easing their caresses on the trees and the branches. I could almost hear the people in the very back of the courtroom breathing. All man and nature stopped, waiting for me, standing numbly and dumbly, while all eyes were locked on me.

A flash of green caught my eye. My sight flickered over to it. It was Hiccup. His hybrid green eyes flashed at me again. He was shaking his head ever so slightly, a small frown on his lips. I couldn't listen to him. He didn't understand. One of his closest friends wasn't going to trial.

I bit my lip and stood taller. I couldn't get myself out of this situation. My hands were shaking and I tried to hide them in the skirts of my dress. I needed people to take me seriously.

"Isn't demoting Anna and Kristoff to Eights harsh?" I said, my voice slightly uneven. This was treading extremely dangerous waters. I should not have done this. "We all make mistakes."

"It is an act of rebellion against the government!" cried Mildew. "This will _not_ do! It is simply unacceptable! The rules are very clear, Lady!"

I frantically looked around. Anna had tears staining her eyes and her cheeks. The guard, Kristoff, looked sorrow, but mostly concerned for her. It made my heart ache. I could tell they were truly in love, and this dreaded competition had to bring it all crumbling down.

I looked to the queen. I hated begging. To me, it was the most pitiful and pathetic ways of getting what you want. But I was quickly running out of options. So I held my hands together and reached toward the queen.

"Please, Your Majesty, you _know_ she means no harm. It was just a mistake!"

Valka looked surprised and taken aback. She wasn't expecting attention to be directed toward her. I _needed_ her to stand with me and fight for my friend. I was disappointed at first when she didn't speak at first. When she opened her mouth, though, it was Mildew that spoke.

"Mistakes can't be made here!" Mildew said firmly. "It is clearly written in the rules that having a relationship with someone outside of the prince is _treason._ This punishment hardly compares to what the usual punishment for treason is!"

I looked at the queen again, hoping she'd say something. She kept her chin high, her silence burning my ears. I was in disbelief, until a slight movement from Stoick was seen from my peripheral vision. Firm hands then grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away.

Struggling and grunting, I shouted, "Give her another chance!" I wailed until the room's doors slammed shut in front of me and the guard prodded me all the way to my room. I never stopped kicking and fighting. It got to the point where the guard had to call in one of his buddies as backup.

My maids weren't in the room. It was painfully empty. The lack of sound bounced off the walls and hit me with its force. It was hard to concentrate. Not that I wanted to concentrate, because every time that my thoughts miraculously returned to my brain, all of them screamed, " _You're in big trouble"._

I knew I was in trouble. I stood up and protested a government trial, in favor of the so-called _criminals._ They could probably put _me_ on trial for treason, for speaking back. The number of strict regulations the government put on _everything_ was giving me a headache. Now that I had an inside look at the kingdom, I got a sense of how corrupt it all really was.

I was lost in thought when the door slammed open and my head snapped up. Deep inside, I was hoping for Hiccup to come, even though he looked royally pissed at the trial. But the bulky figure and jet-black hair told me it was Eret who came in.

I hadn't talked to him in a little while. Not that I was complaining. Though he consistently reminded me that I was "one of his favorites" whenever he passed me, his time was taken up by other girls and their needs.

He sat on the edge of my bed and looked around. I felt a twinge of annoyance at the facts he would just walk in with no forewarning and plop down wherever he wanted.

"Lady Astrid, you know I adore you," Eret said with his accent. "You're fierce and tough, the right qualities in a girl. In a wife."

I bit my lip. Those were words I didn't want to hear. Though I wanted to make him like me so I could earn his trust (and then break it later) hearing his voice say that made me internally cringe.

"But," he continued. "Though I admire your passion for friendship, it is not acceptable for you to behave like that. In front of the King and Queen, in front of the council, in front of several people. It could be considered treason by some. Too many people look up to you for you to do that."

Oh my… this was it. He was kicking me out. I was done.

"But," he repeated. "Per my request, you are not permitted to leave the castle. You are to remain in the Selection. Minor punishments will be inflicted later."

My hopes were somewhat lifted. It was a bit of a relief. But I was confused as to how he was talking. He was using phrases much too complex for Eret to casually use. I noticed him glancing not-so-subtly at his hand, and I understood. He was reciting something, most likely written by an official for him to read. Perhaps to make it sound more genuine.

Another thing that was somewhat foreign to me was the fact that he mentioned people looking up to me. I supposed it was true. My thoughts traveled back to when I was greeted at the airport by so many people, holding up signs and chanting my name religiously. People _did_ know me. I wondered how many little girls were sitting in front of their televisions when the Selection was broadcasted, locking their eyes only on _me._

I shuddered. That was a lot of pressure that I didn't want to think about. I wouldn't want anyone to follow in my footsteps, there was too much trouble. Ever since I met Hiccup, he seemed to drag me into situations and conflicts I couldn't ever dream up prior to meeting him.

Eret scooted closer to me. "Please don't get yourself in trouble. Just follow the rules so you can stay here, with me."

I nodded but making no promises. Of course, I would be getting into trouble. That was a given. While Eret was speaking, I replaced his word "me" with "Hiccup". I would stay here, with Hiccup. He had become my motivation, the one I had been thinking about all day. It was almost terrifying.

Almost.

When Eret left, planting a kiss on my hand, I knew that Hiccup would come. It was as certain as me getting into trouble in this castle. Sure enough, after a few hours of sitting and staring blankly at my typewriter, the window flung open and in darted his slim figure, clad in black.

I stood immediately, sorting out my previously planned apology for him. "Hiccup, I'm _so_ sorry…"

He cut me off. He had that burn in his eyes that he got when he was absolutely furious. The one that made me back down some, because I knew that he was going to rant and there was no hope in stopping him.

"Astrid, you don't even realize what you've done," Hiccup said, gritting his teeth and pacing around my room.

"Hiccup-"

"My parents are _furious!"_ he seethed. "Even Mom was angry. And she _loves_ you. This is _bad._ "

"I'm-"

"You, you don't get it," he continued, running his hands through his mane. "The country is on the brink of collapsing because of rising unrest. You did _not_ help with that, as th-this was a public trial that, that was being broadcasted _live."_

I knew the government wasn't in good shape, but collapsing completely? That made my gut hurt even worse.

"I- well- wouldn't you want unrest?" was all I could find myself saying. It was really embarrassing how I couldn't form words.

"We were going to do it in a way in which Stoick and Eret would step down," Hiccup explained sharply. "Not shut down the entirety of Berk!"

I kept my mouth shut. It made sense. I had made a huge mistake.

"I was trying to stand up for Anna," I whispered. "She meant no harm."

Hiccup sighed and sat back on my bed, in the same spot where Eret had sat. I wrinkled my nose slightly at the thought of Eret back in my room.

"She didn't mean any," Hiccup agreed. "But she caused some." The last part was softer. He was trying to be sympathetic. Though I was upset, I did _not_ want sympathy.

My heart sank. I didn't want to think about Anna on the streets, begging for food while dressed in dirty rags. I held my breath and closed my eyes as I hoped that the first girl I met here, wouldn't suffer as much as most Eights did. The majority of Eights lived hungry and homeless lives, in and out of dirty shelters and back alleys. I prayed that Anna would find her way out there. She always managed to bring some light into a situation.

Hiccup scooted closer to me, erupting the pleasant uneasiness in my gut again. His eyes took on a more gentle tone, easing into my gaze. He took my hand into his and it fit perfectly, causing heat to rush to my cheeks. I took deep breaths, trying to cool my face and ease the embarrassment.

"Hey, hey, I have good news, too," Hiccup gave me a small smile and my heart melted a little. My growing attraction for Hiccup caused me to confuse myself further. I did _not_ feel like my typical self when I was around him. Not that it was bad, it was just different. I wasn't used to it.

"That's surprising," I said, brushing my bangs out of my eyes with my free hand. "I haven't been able to find any." I really didn't think he had any news that I would be interested in until he spoke again.

"Anna won't be leaving the castle."

I stood up abruptly. "What?"

Hiccup leaned back, away from my outburst. "She won't be on the streets."

This made no sense. It was impossible. "How?" I started hopping on my toes with adrenaline.

"The guards sent Anna and Kristoff to the outskirts of Angeles," Hiccup explained. "I then snuck out and lead them to the woods, to the rebel camp. They're working there now."

I stopped moving around. "It was your idea?"

Hiccup nodded with a casual "yeah", and stood up straighter. "I know she's your friend, and you'll want to make sure she'll be safe," he added, as if it were no big deal. It _was_ a big deal to me. It especially hit me when he did it _for_ me, because he knew that she was _my_ friend.

Oh, I could have kissed him right then and there.

But I couldn't. Wouldn't. Rather, I gave him a smile. "Can we go see her?"

"Not now," Hiccup answered quietly. "There are going to be frequent checks on your room to make sure you stay in here. I tried to get them to stay away, but they insisted on it. At least, until they come to an agreement about your punishment."

Though upset and giving a groan at the most _boring_ punishment ever, I couldn't thank Hiccup enough for, essentially, saving my friend.

* * *

Fast-forward a week and a half, a day before the parents were to arrive. The maids were scurrying around the palace, cleaning and sorting everything they could. All of the guest rooms were filled, the castle was going to be packed to the brim. Dory and Jane were picking out my dress for dinner tomorrow as Tina Bell dusted the desk.

I listened to their quiet chatter while I scrubbed off my boots in the bathroom. I kept wearing them to walk to the hybrid camp, making them constantly muddy and tearing apart. I didn't want them to keep asking why my boots were so dirty, so I asked them not to disturb me while I was in the lavatory.

I smiled as a chunk of dirt fell from the bottom of the shoe and landed in the filthy water. The look on Anna's face when I saw her in the camp brought a warm feeling to my heart. I had gone to the camp three days after the trial, despite what Hiccup said. I called to Toothless, who happily nuzzled against me, and we traveled to the camp together.

We hadn't been the _closest_ of friends, but I still considered Anna to be a good friend. I could tell she thought that, too, when she flung herself at me, newly dressed in the neutral-colored layers of the hybrids. She had started crying as we hugged, which felt a bit awkward. It was still nice, though.

This past week has been filled with visits with Toothless to camp, readying myself for my parents to visit, and short talks with Eret that I simply dreaded. He liked to spend time with me and I resented it. His unnatural green eyes seemed to pierce every lie that I told to keep my secrets. I knew, though, he didn't quite have an IQ high enough to see little details in conversations that might seem more suspicious if you did more in-depth analysis on it.

One thing that bothered me was not seeing Hiccup. He told me that he'd visit while I was cooped up in my room. But after he swung out the window, there was no sign of him. No letters or secret conversations. This didn't help with the pernicious affection that I had growing for him. It was getting to the point where I could no longer _think_ about anything else. It was always him. I saw his eyes in the grass, his hair in the wood burning in the fireplace, his freckles in the constellations of stars in the night sky.

God, it was so unlike me to act this way. I hadn't ever really thought about boys or having a boyfriend before. I had always been about business and work. About being tough and acting intimidating toward everyone else. But Hiccup let me be myself, the person I, unfortunately, hadn't really encountered in a long time. I didn't have to worry about putting on a hard face to survive, and for that, I am forever grateful to him.

"Come pick your favorite dress!" Tina Bell squeaked, making me jump. My boots plopped into the tub of murky water, splashing stray drops on me.

"I'm terribly sorry miss, for scaring you like that!" the blonde said quickly, worry pinching her eyebrows together. I quickly fished out my soaked-through boots. They dripped putrid water all my pants until I could grab a hold of my towel and dry them off.

"It's okay," I said to Tina Bell, dismissing her. But to me, it was hardly okay. It was much more visible how they were about to fall apart. As I poked at the worn leather on one of the drenched boots, I could see that it wouldn't withstand another wearing. The sole was falling out, the stitches of previous mending making their last futile attempts at holding the materials together. I'd have to say good-bye.

I sighed deeply. Though I had few things from home with me in my room, those boots were really the one thing that made this world feel not as alien to me. I shook my head and stood up. Sulking wasn't going to change anything or bring them back. I left them to dry and waste away on the towel on the bathroom floor as I padded out from the tile of the bathroom to the plush carpet of the bedroom.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Jane asked, concern rooted in her blue eyes. I nodded, trying to clear my face and make it stony and free of expression. I couldn't let them become suspicious of _anything._ Luckily, to rid my thoughts away, my head maid starting speaking again. "We have picked our favorites for you for the Snoggletog Eve ball!"

"What's Snoggletog?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the ugly name. "I thought it was going to be a Christmas Eve ball."

The maids started laughing, leaving me standing there, utterly confused as to why they were doubling over in snorts. I had never heard of a _Snoggletog_ before. Was it a holiday?

"Oh, it's just something we call Christmas," Dory piped up. "Started way back when. We forget that it's called Christmas a lot of the time."

I raised an eyebrow. That was weird.

But I didn't question it anymore, especially after there was a knock at my door. Jane opened it and smiled big at me when she revealed Eret standing in the doorway.

"Lady Hofferson," he said, trying to charm me. "We have a joint interview, awaiting us in the lounge with Bucket and Mulch."

"Why haven't I heard about it?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I didn't like interviews for the television. I didn't like the cameras at all. I hated how they were always around the big hoards of girls, trying to capture anything exciting for the viewers across the country.

"It was last minute. They asked me to choose one of the Selected to do an interview with, so I picked my favorite!"

"How long?"

"I'll walk you to the royal lounge."

I shook my head. "I'm going to need some time to freshen up and get ready." I took this as an opportunity to speed up to Hiccup's room to check on him. It was difficult not having any word from him in several days, not knowing where he was or what he was doing.

If I were talking to anyone else, I knew I would be denied my request. It wasn't right for a guest to wander, unaccompanied, through the royal quarters. But as I have been seeing from the past few weeks, it's been getting harder for Eret to deny me anything. He wanted to impress me and give me what I wanted to I'd stay with him.

I could see the hesitation in his eyes. He eventually gave in, though, as I predicted. "As you wish, my lady," Eret said, bowing and stepping away from the doorway. He was always trying too hard to earn my affection. His persistence was obnoxious, whenever I was around him my fists always itched to have a go at his jaw. "Be in the royal lounge in an hour, preferably earlier."

I nodded with a huge, fake smile and slammed the door shut right as he was out of the way. My maids scurried away, obviously catching from my facial expressions that I wanted to get ready alone. I had been getting a lot of alone time lately, it left me to think. It wasn't a good nor bad, simply neutral. After I'd thought too much, I'd typically pour my heart into my typewriter. I was making lots of progress on my little projects that I had been working on in the free time I had before.

I bathed in lavender soap, leaving my skin soft and fresh. The sweet aroma of the wash permeated the air, leaving me to linger in the room for longer than necessary. I tied my wet hair up in a towel for it to dry and seated myself in front of my large mirror.

Makeup of all sorts was strewn across the desk. The maids forgot to clean the desk when they were scrubbing, but I didn't care. I was beyond thankful to have them at all. Pallets of eye colors, tubes of glosses, and back lining pencils were all scattered along. I had hardly any experience with fixing my face, besides the times I _almost_ paid attention when they were applying any.

I searched through the piles, wondering how one girl could ever need all of this. I had no intention of caking my face, but I needed to look somewhat alive for an interview. A part of my mind told me that it was for Hiccup, but I immediately shut it down. He didn't care how I looked. Either looking like a doppelganger of a high-class noble or a raccoon, it was always the same.

I powdered my face with a shade that matched my natural skin, I used a black, sticky wand to make my eyelashes stand out, and I applied tinted chapstick. I tied my hair in a braid and added a silver clip to make it look like I put effort into my look. After pulling myself into a simple gray sundress, I stepped into one of the more practical pairs of shoes I was provided with and slipped out of my room.

When I reached the end of the main hall, in front of the royal's quarters, the guard standing post outside of the doorway held his arm out to stop me. It was confounding to me, there really hadn't been any guards that would keep watch of the entrance. Something was definitely up.

"You need special permission or an escort to enter," the guard's voice came as a deep rumble, barely audible.

I raised an eyebrow. Surely Eret would have let them know I was coming. "I have an interview in the lounge with His Majesty, Prince Eret." I spoke in a perfect nice-girl voice, trying to let him know I was respectful and that I didn't want any trouble

He inspected my face closely, dark eyes narrowing, before pulling out a small set of cards on a key loop. There were tiny words printed on the laminated sheets. Zeroing in on the numbers, I noticed that they were set in strict increments, letting me know it was a schedule. I knew I was right as the guard's mustache twitched into a frown.

"A guard is standing outside of the lounge and will be expecting you."

I lifted my head up triumphantly when he stepped aside with a _huff_ and let me pass. I looked behind me down the hall, until I was sure I was out of his eyesight and positive that he wouldn't come back after me. I then darted up the stairs I believed to be the right way to Hiccup's room. I slinked against the walls, careful not to knock over any detailed pottery or expensive paintings that stood in my way. It was almost astonishing how much stuff the royals could acquire after the years they had spent in the castle.

When I saw a large set of windows and a familiar, tall looking plant, I grinned mischievously. I knew where I was.

My heart started beating faster, the blood roaring like a wild animal in my ears. The adrenaline that surged through my veins made it hard to sit still and _not_ shake while I crept around the corner. I couldn't attract attention to myself- I didn't know who was up here.

I came across the same sitting room area that I hid in when I was eavesdropping on Hiccup. I scrambled to the corner, taking deep breaths. Trying to calm the anxiety that kept bubbling up in my throat was a real chore. But I managed to quiet myself _and_ the lion in my ears as I listened for noise coming from down the hall in Hiccup's room.

At first, I didn't. I don't know if it was my anxiousness or being dazed, but I'm glad I hesitated jumping out and sprinting to his room.

There were shuffles at first. The distinct sound of feet sliding and shuffling around on carpet. My brows knit together, wondering why Hiccup would be doing such actions at this time.

As I started to inch closer, though, I realized that it _was not_ Hiccup. There were several pairs of feet moving around. Too many for everything to be normal. I _knew_ something was wrong.

Then I heard the shouting. Loud and powerful commands were hollered back and forth inside and around his room. My eyes widened as I tried to make sense of any of this, as I tried to pick out voices that I either recognized or ones that I could _understand._

I had to know what was going on. I needed to know if Hiccup was okay. Sucking in a desperate breath, I took a risk and quickly peered around the corner.

Books, sketches, furniture and clothes were being thrown carelessly through the opened doorway. Guards were sifting through Hiccup's belongings, obviously looking for something. There were at least three out in front of his room, and an additional four to five inside of his room, bombarding it and trampling everything in their path.

Their shouts were muffled until one short guard approached who I assumed to be the supervising officer, saying a statement that haunted me. It rattled my bones and shook my core. Sentences that I wasn't keen on hearing at this point in our mission.

"No sign of him, sir! He knew we were coming!"

"Damn," the higher-ranking guard shook his fist with fury. "Call every guard on duty. Sweep the castle. Question anyone you deem suspicious. We're gonna find that bastard."

 **This chapter was a _paaain_ to write. Yikes. **

**Here we are, ladies and gents. Next chapters, it's all action and plans and conflict. This is where the intensity begins!**

 **I know y'all want Hiccstrid. Don't worry, plenty of that later.**

 **Thank you for being patient last week! I had just come back from a church retreat over the weekend, and I had to travel 1000 miles away to a skating competition for the week, so I had next to no time to write. Hence why this chapter feels so low-quality.**

 **I'll probably post another chapter this week to make up for it!**

 **Follow, fave, review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone,**

 **Sorry for the late update. A relative of mine passed away this week, and I've been spending time with family. The funeral was today, hence the lack of update.**

 **It's been hard to write, but I pulled through. It's kinda rushed and low-quality, so please lower your standards for this one, haha.**

 **Responses:**

 **xXManticoreXx: You're too kind (: We, unfortunately, didn't qualify for the next round /: But it was okay, cause I got more time to write!**

 **Guest: Nope, the problems keep piling it on! Wait till the end my friend and you may or may not be satisfied.**

 **BrawlerGamer: Yepyepyep! Gotta love Hiccup.**

 **Nina: Sorry about not giving that extra chapter, it'll come one of these days!**

 **Poksie: that would be cool!**

This could not be happening.

I bolted downstairs, barely able to feel my feet hitting the ground. My brain was wiped clean of all thoughts as I ran. All I could feel was fear. Fear that Hiccup was going to be caught. The fear drove me to plan on scouring every centimeter of the palace until he was found.

My thoughts were abruptly halted when I collided with a man not much older than me.

"Sorry," I mumbled and noticed that he was a guard. He was standing outside of the lounge. His eyes brightened and he ushered me into the lounge quickly before I had time to protest.

The warm aura the room had to it had faded away, as there were many bright lights set up around the sofa arrangement. Their blinding light shone in my eyes when I walked in and I had to cover them with my hand to see where I was going.

Eret jumped up to bring me to the sofa, where I would set next to him, across from the interviewer who had her own chair set up a couple of feet away. It all happened so quickly that I was still slightly panting from my run through the castle. My bangs were starting to stick to my forehead with the light sweat that had broken out.

"Welcome, Lady Hofferson," the reporter said, her hair close-cropped with a horrendous dye job. "So glad you made it. We'll start rolling in thirty seconds."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. I was positive I looked awful, with a red, sweaty face and crazy hair. Before they could roll the cameras, though, a lady came up to me and ran a powder brush over my face, masking the imperfections. I didn't have time to gather my thoughts before everything started.

The red light on the camera facing the reporter blinked on. She put on a plastic smile and greeted the viewers. "Welcome back everyone, I'm Joan Carter with _The Report_. Today, we have an exclusive interview with the man everyone's buzzing about right now, His Highness Prince Eret! Thank you so much for being here."

"Thank you for having me," Eret responded smoothly. He was raised with cameras around every corner and the media prying on his life, so it was no surprise to me that he had perfect composure.

"We also have a candidate for the Selection with us, the front-runner in most of the public polls, Lady Astrid Hofferson!" When Joan said this, I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow upward. I was quickly reminded not to do this, as a camera was pointed at me.

I was the _front-runner_ in the polls? That was astonishing. In the Selection, they'd sometimes send out surveys to everyone on who they like and who they expect to win the competition. It made me wonder _why_ people liked me. I soon realized that they don't see _me_ that often, the stubborn girl that has a terrible attitude toward the situation I was in. They saw who I played to be on television. These people _fell_ for it.

I smiled at the camera and muttered thanks to Joan. She started off with a few questions for the prince, in which I ignored. I tried to look like I was calm and paying attention, but Hiccup's well-being was all I could think about.

"Lady Hofferson, how smooth was the change from your province, the castes, and your family, to the luxurious castle?" Joan asked me, and I sat up a bit straighter.

I shifted, thinking, before answering. "It was definitely hard to get used to. I used to have to work long hours just to be able to buy food, and now I have all this food whenever I want it. Missing my family is hard, too."

"I'm sure it was awful, back home, being a Seven," she said, which stroked an odd note with me. That was rude to say about anyone's lifestyle, right to their face. Though I wasn't _totally_ disagreeing with her, she shouldn't have said that.

I shrugged. "I was used to it."

"If you get sent back home, how hard will it be to adjust again?"

I pressed my lips together. This reporter was really getting on my nerves. All they cared about was me being a Seven. "That's not a good question, pass," was all I said.

Joan raised her over-plucked, overdrawn eyebrows but continued with the interview. It was boring, and quickly I decided that I didn't like one-on-one interviews. Even though Eret was beside me. The group interview weeks ago was fine, but this close and personal? No.

It was another ten minutes until we finally finished. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when the red lights died and the large lights around us dimmed. I needed to leave, I needed to find Hiccup.

Eret tried to hold me back and to stay with him, but I waded through the crew members that crowded the lounge to get to the door. Once out and around the corner away from the guard, I kicked off my shoes and _ran._

* * *

Again, finding myself in a situation where I had no set destination was difficult. I needed to find him, but with the hundreds of rooms in the castle, it would prove to be a laborious task. I crept up flights of stairs to glimpse at his room again. No sign of any guards coaxed me out of my hiding spot and I peered around, seeing that all of his stuff was still thrown everywhere. I crept out from behind the corner I was standing behind and looked into his room. It was even worse inside.

His bed was stripped bare of sheets and quilts, leaving a mattress fallen halfway to the floor. His notebooks were ripped open, notes sifted through and tossed back on the ground. They had found his plans. The hybrid plans. _That's_ why they were after him.

My vision blurred and I started to get angry. I _hated_ crying. This stupid boy was causing me all of these emotions. In a heartbreaking moment, I saw a glint of a copper color on the ground and I bent down to get a better look.

When my vision cleared, I stepped back. It was his violin, smashed to pieces and ripped to bits.

I covered my mouth. I don't know why this had been so significant to me, but it hit me like a wave. This showed me, for the hundredth time, what Eret and this castle really wanted. It was all about power. Not about caring for people, but for the power and authority the position came with. I grit my teeth. I was done with this.

My feet fled the scene before I knew what was happening. I ran down halls and stairwells I had never seen before and became lost all too quickly. I tried to quietly call out Hiccup's name, so he would hear me but also so that other people wouldn't hear me. I couldn't be caught now.

In my hasty search, I almost ran right into a tiny formation of guards that was passing by. There were about six of them, dressed in their crisp red uniforms, passing by. If it weren't for the door that opened and pulled me inside, I would have been stuck in a really terrible position.

I hardly had time to realize my surprise when the light cut out and I was in the dark, unable to see anything. I tried to yell or scream, but a hand covered my mouth muffled any sound. A dim light then flickered, and I saw Hiccup twisting a light bulb above our heads.

I nearly sobbed with relief when I saw his face. I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same. He shushed me as I breathed heavily, telling me that he was fine.

"They're after you," I said. It was the only thing that came to mind.

"I know."

"How have they not found you yet?"

"I've been crawling in the vents."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Hiccup slapped his hand over my mouth again and closed his eyes. After a few seconds of him giving a concentrated look, he opened them. "You're lucky I don't hear anyone in the halls."

I nodded. I always forgot about the _enhanced senses_ thing.

I sighed as we were crammed in this coat closet. It was tiny, unusually small for people of such status. I was pushed up against Hiccup's chest. I could feel him breathing and his heart beating. When I noticed his hand was around my shoulders and brushing my arm, the dreaded butterflies returned to swarm my stomach.

I needed to take my mind off of the distractions, so I started talking in a quiet voice. "How did you know I was passing by?" I asked. It hardly made sense for him to blindly reach out and grab me while I was running by.

In the dim light, I saw his cheeks blush a light red. He shifted his stance. "I- uh- know what your footsteps sound like. I heard them, then I heard the guards marching. With the direction you were heading, I knew that you were about to head straight into them."

I leaned into him, thanking him for saving my ass. After another minute of comfortable silence, I started talking again. "You had to choose the most cliche hiding spot, didn't you?" I said, teasing him with a smile.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Sorry I didn't take you to the… the _Bahamas_ of hiding places," he muttered, sarcasm oozing from his words. I choked back a laugh.

I bit my lip. I didn't know how he could be so casual while in the position he was in. Where was he to go? They're tracking him down, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere.

"What are you going to do?" I asked. "You've lost your respect, your family, your home."

"Thank you, Astrid, for summing that up," Hiccup snorted. He sighed, slumping against the wall. "There really is only one thing I _can_ do that would keep the camp safe and out of harm's way for the upcoming days."

"How will you escape?"

"Astrid, I _can't_ escape," he said, worry in his eyes. "Can't you see that? If I go, they'll have everyone after me. They'll eventually run into the camp. I have to turn myself in."

" _What?!"_

Hiccup clamped his hand over my mouth again. "Shut _up!"_ he hissed. "They'll take me in for questioning, wanting to know where our base is and what our further plans are." He leaned in closer to my ear. "They only got the surface of our plans. They don't know about the ball."

When I felt the lump in my throat, I cursed myself for getting worked up. But with the flickering light, I could see Hiccup's eyes were glossing over too. Even though we were sharing similar emotions, I didn't want to cry in front of him. I wanted so desperately to be strong.

He inhaled a shaky breath. "I have to do it. That way, instead of hundreds of people, I'm the only one who gets hurt."

I shook my head, trying to swallow my feelings away. "No, no, no, no!" I said. This was going in the wrong direction. " _I_ would get hurt. It would hurt me _so badly_ to see you suffer. If they did anything to you, I don't know what I'd do! I really-" I cleared my throat, as my voice began to waver. I wiped my eyes. " _Really_ care about you. More than is legal."

Hiccup pressed his lips together. "You're adding a whole 'nother cliche to this coat closet thing," he mused. When I cocked an eyebrow, he continued. "First, a hiding spot in the closet from the bad guys. Second, confessing love for each other _in_ said closet."

"I-I… I just-" I spluttered. That wasn't what I was expecting.

"Astrid, I'm not going to pretend I don't have feelings for you anymore," Hiccup said, a sad look in his eyes. "God knows I've been terrible at hiding it, probably why everyone so suspicious of me after I met you. But it's okay, you're pretty clueless."

"I- uh…" I didn't know what to say. He had _feelings_ for me. How was I supposed to react? I was so stunned, all I could do was stand there.

Hiccup, fortunately for me, kept speaking. "I always heard the maids and cooks and guards talking. 'Why is Hiccup so happy', they'd ask each other. 'He's coming out of his room more often' and 'He's smiling again' are also common." He smiled cheekily, leaning his head back on the wall. "You ruined my life, Hofferson. You ruined it so wonderfully and beautifully."

I didn't know what to say. I always thought of myself of a person that was incapable of love. I had many more flaws than positives to my character, in my opinion, why would anyone love me? Who _could?_. I had no idea what to make of Hiccup's confession.

I saw an opportunity, hanging out like bait on a fishing line. I took it. I channeled all the bravery I had and put it into one statement. "How does a third cliche sound, where they share a kiss in the closet?"

Hiccup didn't hesitate.

The only kissing experience I had really ever had was Eret. More specifically, the one where he grabbed me and planted one on me in front of Hiccup. Eret's was one filled with gnashing teeth, slimy tongues, and a bruised mouth that made me scrub my lips later. It was disgusting.

Hiccup's kiss was gentle. His lips were warm on mine, connecting perfectly like a puzzle piece. It was slow, deep, and passionate, with a building sensation that rose in the pit of my belly and extinguished all the butterflies. One of his hands snaked its way to my waist while the other reached around the back of my neck, thumb stroking my jaw, pulling me closer. My skin burned brilliant flames under his contact. To sum it up, it was the kind of kiss you saw in fairy-tale movies as a child and could only dream of experiencing yourself.

When we parted, lips still tingling, he rested his forehead on mine. Our breaths and heartbeat seemed to synchronize. The budding flower that was planted when I met Hiccup had finally blossomed into a full flower. A beautiful, chaotic, _illegal_ flower. Adrenaline ran wild in my veins, leaving my fingers shaking as I traced his stubble-ridden jawline.

"I have to go," he whispered, voice cracking. I would have laughed at it if he had said anything else. But he didn't, and this was real. "I was waiting till I got to say good-bye."

"No. Please," I murmured. But I knew he had to. He pressed his lips to my forehead and opened the door, stepping out.

Before he left me, he motioned upward. "Go through the vents. Get back to your room. Lead them."

When he shut the door, the tears started down my face. It wasn't but a minute later when I heard loud shouts a few halls down.

" _We've got him! We've found him! He's here!"_

It registered in my mind that I might not ever see him again.

Barely able to see because of the low light and the blurry tears, I popped off the large vent and hoisted myself up into it. When I pulled the metal back into place behind me, I let my tears fall freely. It didn't matter that there were tears impairing my vision, it was much too dark to see anything clearly anyway.

The vents were almost too small to crawl through. I had to lay and squirm my way slowly through the metal, all while trying not to make noise. The vents felt unstable and hot. I didn't know how Hiccup was crawling around up there for a long time.

 _Lead them,_ he had said. He wanted me to lead the rebels into battle. I knew what he meant, but I didn't know if I could do it. It was a huge responsibility that I was _not_ prepared for. I was going to do it, though, for him. I didn't completely trust Snotlout, anyway.

New sounds flooded my senses when low lights illuminated the silver vents. I shuffled closer to it and saw it was an opening vent for the ceiling before. Peering down, I tried to make out the figures that were standing.

The bulk of a man was King Stoick. There was another large man, but with dark, spiky hair and a patchy salt-and-pepper beard. They wore similar clothing, furs and leathers of the high-class, and were seated at a long table with glasses of wine. I couldn't tell what room it was, I'd never been in it before.

"Stoick, my son's up tae somethin'," the other man, not the king, was saying. "It's always teh same layout, an' it never works. They always get in teh same entrance. It's as if he's lettin' them in."

The king huffed. "With the betrayal of my so- Hiccup, I don't think I can trust anyone, Spitelout. I knew he wasn't right in the head, but this is different. We can have him executed."

My breath caught in my throat.

"As you should!" the man- Spitelout- cried. "It's plottin' against us! He's a traitor, an enemy! I say public trial, public execution. Justice fer all."

"I don't know," Stoick grumbled. "We haven't even found the beast yet-"

At the end of his sentence, the doors slammed open and the guards and their bright uniforms came in, pushing a handcuffed Hiccup out. I tried my hardest not to cry out at the sight of a fat purple bruise on his cheek.

"Your Majesty, we've found the traitor," a guard spoke.

Hiccup rolled his shoulders back and adjusted his posture, standing in a casual position. "Hey Dad," he said, kicking at the ground. "How's your day going?"

King Stoick stood abruptly, knocking the chair back behind him. His bushy red eyebrows were narrowed in an angry stare, one that I wouldn't want to look at. His tone was low and menacing.

"You," he said, pointing a finger at Hiccup. "Are no son of mine. You are a disgrace."

I could see Hiccup biting the inside of his cheek from where I was, and I knew that the words hit him hard.

"I didn't have to plot against the castle to know that you hated me," offered Hiccup, trying to act as normal as he could. "Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you were a better father."

Stoick took his wine glass and chucked it at the wall, the plum-colored liquid splattering all over and the glass shattering to shards on the carpet floor. His face was tomato-red, and he tossed his fur cape over his shoulder.

"Send him to the dungeons. He will be executed within the week."

 **Please leave a review, they make me happy, and I could use a little bit of that rn (:**

 **O yeah hope u enjoyed the smoochies and feels and hiccup being captured n shit lol sorry bout dat**


	18. Chapter 18

**I promise there's a story below all of these review responses lol**

 **The amount of support I got the last chapter nearly brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much. I love you all.**

 **Rie: Thank you!**

 **xXManticoreXx: Thank you so much. It means so much to me! I'm glad you like the story.**

 **Anon: I was giddy while writing it :3**

 **me: Thanks! We'll see what happens to them!**

 **All Guests: Thank you so much.**

 **UnbreakableWarrior: Yeah, I didn't want it to be all fluff or all angst. Together is a good mix**

 **BrawlerGamer: Ahh these kids and their poor timing, amirite?**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: I'm doing alright, thank you for asking. It was rough on the family but we've acknowledged that she's in a better place now (:**

 **theskrillrider: Bleh, I don't like Eret either**

 **Nina: Thank you so much! You're too kind (: (more hiccstrid later don't worry fam!)**

 **GrimBoy: I hope this chapter makes the perspective a bit different. Valka cares so much for Hiccup.**

 **gigidragons85: Thank you. She was my aunt, so she was closer to my mom than I was. But it was still hard on the family. Thank you for your support (:**

 **Unknown654: Me too, bud**

 **Guest: how bout dah**

 **harrypanther: Thank you so much, as always. You're too kind to me ^o^**

 **EagleDragon15: Meee tooo lmaoo**

Hiccup was dragged out of the meeting room by four of the guards. I was crying, tears leaking down my face. I tried not to sob, I couldn't let anyone hear me.

"No!" I whispered, barely audible. _Executed!_ Hiccup was his son, no-matter if he disowned him or not. I thought locking your own son up would be punishment enough, but having him _killed?_

Someone seemed to have the same idea in mind. The doors swung open yet again, revealing the slim and graceful figure of the queen. Her gold and maroon dress was hiked up into her fists as she marched her way past the remaining guards. They squirmed under her hard gaze as the winds of her skirts fanned their faces.

" _Stoick!"_ her voice boomed through the room, making the vents rattle with sound. I had never heard such a sound come out of that woman, and dear God, I hope I never heard it again.

Even though the king was the size of a gorilla, I could see even _he_ was uncomfortable when being confronted by the queen, who resembled more the shape of a tall meerkat. She strode over and slapped his face.

Yes, she slapped the king.

Her palm cracked against his cheek, the echo bouncing off the walls. I had never seen Valka behave in such away, it was frightening.

"That's my _son!"_ she shrieked. "How _dare_ you!" A

"He committed _treason!"_ Stoick shot back. "He was going to take the rebels and invade!"

"He is your son, how could you do that?"

"No son of mine would do such a thing."

"Yes, yes he would," Valka prompted, strutting around Stoick's seat. "You will reverse this immediately. My son will not be executed."

"I can't," Stoick said gruffly. "I had someone send the news to the press that a noble's son committed treason. Anyways, no one should escape the punishment of a serious crime."

Another crack of a slap. "If he's siding with the rebels, you know what they'd do if you killed him!"

"Val, it's going through whether you like it or not! Stand down, woman!"

I saw Valka back away with a disgusted look. "I can't believe you. You never used to be like this. What happened to you, you… you _monster?"_

"Get out of my sight," the king grumbled as he put his head in his hand. Valka looked very surprised by this, as she should have. I knew the king had a temper, but this was very extreme.

I started shuffling away from the on vent. I had to use all the strength in my arms to hoist myself over it. My foot, still bare with no shoes, dropped for a second and hit the vent with a loud thud.

When the voices started questioning if they had rats in the system, I scuttled away from it as fast as I could to get away from the vent. I couldn't let them know I was up there. After it was cleared, I then proceeded to gasp and cradle my foot because of the intense pain that followed it.

I passed a couple more vents until I found a room that I recognized. Instead of looking down on the room, the vent was on the wall so I could pop out and hop down instead of descending from the ceiling. The tile floors and white walls along with the stalls told me that it was the bathroom in the main hall. I sat and listened for a few seconds, trying to see if there was anyone out there.

A flush of a toilet made me back away from the vent. A maid popped out of a stall and washed her hands before leaving. I listened again, and determined the coast to be clear.

As quietly as I could, I removed the metal and crawled through. There was an armchair, so I swung my legs down and replaced the metal frame to its place. I smoothed my dress, trying to rid of the dust that collected on my skirts. I jumped down from the chair and walked across the cold tile floor to look in the mirror.

My hair was tangled and had tinges of gray down it from the dirt and grime that was collecting in the vents. My dress was filthy as well, and there were a few scratches down my legs from some sharp edges up in the ceiling. I looked down and there was a huge, purple-black bruise on the top of my foot. I knew it was from when my foot hit the edge of the vent.

I brushed off my dress and pulled my hair back before walking out and going to my room, slinking along the walls, hoping that no one would see me. I then bathed and dressed in pants and a sweater, in which I had to dig past the sparkly, fancy dresses to find.

As I was walking down the hall at my quick pace, I passed by Jane who was carrying a basket of fresh sheets and laundry toward my room.

"Hello, dear," she greeted with her friendly gaze. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Where're you off to?"

I pressed my lips together. "The stables to brush horses."

She then plucked a light scarf of of the laundry pile and handed it to me. "It's a bit chilly out there," she said with a smile, and I thanked her before going downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I looked around me. There were a few girls in the Women's Lounge. I had noticed the total number of girls slowly dwindling as the Selection wore on.

I exited the castle, a crisp wind biting the skin on my cheeks. I nuzzled my nose further into my scarf, grateful to Jane for handing it to me. I walked briskly through the garden, the familiar cobblestone paths winding through the yellow bushes and sleeping flowers. When winter came, I was glad the gardeners kept the plants natural instead of replacing them with green, fake ones to look prettier. It reminded me of my mother's gardening.

In case anyone had been following me, I did go to the stables. I brushed Sneaky for a minute, before letting out a whistle to let Toothless know that I was here. Within the minute, I heard rush of air and something land on the side of the roof that wasn't facing the castle.

I smiled when I stepped outside and saw Toothless pawing a leaf on the roof. He looked down at me with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his eyes wide and friendly. I climbed to the top of the barn and sat on his back and held on.

Rearing back, the Night Fury leaped off of the roof and glided. He was under the coverage of trees so that his large bat-like wings were concealed from the eyes of the castle, but he also was high enough to clear the tall fence. I stayed on his back as he trotted through the woods to the hybrid camp, which was about twenty minutes away on his back.

The sun was sinking slowly down to the earth, a palette of pinks and oranges painted on the sky. The clouds were tinted a purple-like color. It was a shame that I couldn't enjoy the beauty, for I had too many things on my mind. I had to lead the rebels. I had to worry about Hiccup. I had to worry about not getting caught.

The guard at the entrance to the camp, Speedifist (I had learned from my last visit) let me in right away. Toothless and I trotted through the tunnel and opened out into the main camp.

It was bustling as always, with clotheslines hung up from the trees around the camp. There were a handful of dragons, laying around and snoozing or eating. Around the coal fire pit, people were gathered, eating and chatting. They were oblivious to the event that had just happened.

"Astrid!" one of the hybrids greeted, and the small community then turned their attention toward me. They met my gaze with smiles and flashes of their mystical eyes. Their joyful attitudes made my mood sink lower.

"Where's Lord Haddock?" one young man asked from across the firepit.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to ruin their moods so quickly and suddenly, but they had to know the truth. They were a tough people and had to handle it.

"They caught him," I said, announcing it to the entirety of the camp. Everyone quickly quieted, so much that the crackling of the coal sounded as loud as fireworks in the silence. I took a shaky breath and continued. "They found his plans. He's… uh…"

I really didn't want to say the last part aloud, but I knew I had to. "He's to be e-executed. Soon."

People gasped. Murmurs erupted throughout the people. They leaned over to whisper to their friends and family, casting their worried looks at me. Their expectant looks made my hands shake with anxiety.

"The last thing he said to me," I said, slowly and quieter. "Was to ' _lead them'._ 'Them' meaning you guys."

Uneasy looks were then passed around the crowd. Sounds of cautious whispers rippled through the hybrids. I didn't blame them. What did I know about leading people into battle? About leading _rebels_ into battle? I wasn't even one of them. I was only an ally of theirs. It shouldn't be up to me.

"I'm just as confused as you are," I insisted. "I don't know why. I shouldn't, I need someone to pass the spot down to. I know I'm not qualified to do anything remotely like thi…" I trailed up, seeing that people were looking to someone else now.

One girl stood up while I was talking, her bright blue eyes shining. "If it was Lord Haddock's word, we should trust him," she said. People stood up around her, nodding.

It felt like one of those turning points in movies I saw as a child. Sometimes, my mother and father would take Gustav and I to see screenings of dated movies in the library. I loved to watch the action movies with the heroes and villains, and this is definitely what this situation felt like.

Except I didn't know how to be a hero. Watching someone else be a hero was much, _much_ easier. I was just a poor mechanic from the frigid province of Dakota. What did I know about rebellions? About leading a group of non-humans to break into the castle.

"I really don't think that I can-" I started to say, but the huge man, Hiccup's closest friend, walked forward.

"We know that you'll probably suck at it," Fishlegs said. It was a weird thing to say, given the words strung together in that sentence but said in such a wise, solemn tone. "But we're all here to support you. Hiccup trusted you more than anyone."

The hybrids nodded behind him, their eyes gleaming and heads held high. Fishlegs turned back to me. "I've heard from some of us who came back from previous attacks on the castle that you're a good fighter. We _need_ you."

I chewed on my cheek. I understood they wanted what Hiccup wanted for them. But they had to know that I couldn't do this alone. I didn't know the slightest thing in planning huge attacks with hundreds of people at my disposal.

"I can be a co-leader," I said, taking a more assertive tone. "I would like Jorgenson, Ingerman, and both Thorstons by my side to help."

Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins beamed up at me. They looked proud, but I didn't feel it. When I saw Hiccup being dragged away, I felt like I lost a small piece of me that I didn't even realize that I had. We _had_ to get him out.

I stayed with the hybrids for the evening. They danced around me and sang songs around a fire. At the same time, they were productive and sharpened swords and staffs and polished small guns. They were readying for battle with cheery attitudes.

I ate fresh fruit with them and chatted, trying to get to know these people better. The way they moved around with quick, snapping motions reminded me of a dragon. The way their feet pranced around the ground resembled a dragon's cautious paws, while their hands thrown up in the air with their long, unusually sharp fingernails were like claws.

Some of them had teeth that almost looked sharp. They weren't completely triangular, but they weren't human-shaped. Some of them had rough skin that felt like scales. There was a little boy who had pale scales on his feet and a girl with extremely hot breath.

I tried to befriend everyone that I could. I wanted them to trust me as much as they could. I didn't want them to think of me as the girl that stuck by Hiccup's side when we went to the camp. I wanted them to know that, even though I had never been a leader like this, I had leadership qualities.

Snotlout Jorgenson approached me when the moon was starting to rise. I hadn't seen him"Not that I don't love having you here," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "But you should head back with Toothless. It's getting late." I nodded and whistled for Toothless to come over. "We can start planning to break Hiccup out of prison tomorrow. I've come up with a few rough drafts we can talk about in the morning."

I nodded and shook his hand. It wasn't a pleasant handshake, his hands were grimy and sweaty. I suppose, though, it wasn't nearly as bad as touching Eret.

When I walked back to the fence with Toothless, I noticed his eyes were downcast. The way his ears drooped let me know that he missed Hiccup and was worried for him. I patted his head and he nuzzled against my hand. To pass time and to cheer him up, I told him about some of the fun memories I had with Hiccup during my time at the castle.

I could see his sad, dragon grin on his mouth as he trotted back to the fence with me on his back. I noticed a smile on mine, too. I wasn't just recalling moments for Toothless. They were for me, too.

It was amazing how someone who was in my life for such a short amount of time could have such an impact on me and change who I was forever.

Toothless helped me over the fence and crooned a goodbye to me. I promised him that I'd see him in the morning.

The sun was almost completely set by then. The sky was a lovely dark purple, the stars just barely visible. The moon shone bright as it made its slow ascent. I walked, enjoying the fresh scent of the grass and trees. There was that tinge of salt, too, which I sometimes noticed in the evening breeze. It reminded me of how the ocean wasn't too far.

 _Maybe,_ I thought. _If we get out of this mess, Hiccup and I can go to the ocean._ I had never seen the sea before. Only ponds and lakes and rivers. I had heard and seen a few pictures of a body of water so huge, but I still had yet to encounter it myself.

I jogged to one of the side doors of the castle, the one that led to the hallway with the bathroom I escaped through. I slipped through the door and went to my room, hopefully not catching the eye of anyone that would be suspicious.

Opening my door quietly, I stepped inside to see Tina Bell and Dory cleaning. I greeted them and took off my scarf, placing it on the glossy white table next to the door.

"It's about time, missy!" said Dory, with her hands on her hips with her duster in her hand. "That was an awfully long time to brush horses!"

There was a nervous pinch in my stomach. But I knew I could lie. "I went for a walk. I needed some cool air."

Dory pursed her lips. "Please don't stay out too long, or they'll start questioning us."

I nodded and apologized.

After I bathed (again), Jane told me to be in the dining hall by nine in the morning, dressed in a formal dress. I nodded before climbing into bed as she exited the room. Sometimes, the royals liked to have breakfast with us and wanted us to be there with them.

I took the alarm clock on the bedside table and set it early. As an early bird, I loved waking before the sun. I loved the peacefulness and opportunity to be alone that the morning brought. Snotlout said he'd stay the night in the camp, so I'd be able to meet with them there and plan to get Hiccup out.

Only a few hours later and my alarm clock's shrill beeps rang through my room. I slammed my fist down on it to stop it and I swung my legs over my bed. I tied my sneakers and threw on dark pants and a jacket. After tying my hair back, I sneaked out of my room.

The light from the hallway caused my eyes to sting. While I was blinking, I almost walked right into a suit of armor. Quietly tip-toeing around it, I sucked in a breath. If guards heard a loud clutter in our hallway at four in the morning, they'd need a really good explanation from me. One that I didn't have planned.

Opening a window near a side door, I crawled through and shut it slowly, careful not to make any sound. I then sprinted across the grass, trying to stay as close to the treeline as possible so I'd be completely camouflaged.

I whistled once I got to the stables and Toothless greeted me at the fence. We traveled to the camp, where the fires were put out and everyone was asleep. Except for the ones standing guard.

I crept to the long meeting hut, where I found Snotlout asleep on the table, sucking his thumb while in a fetal position. I approached him, tapping his shoulder to try to wake him up. When that didn't work, I used both hands to shake him.

He still snored.

I pushed a little too hard, and shoved him off the table completely. He let out a yelp of surprise and stood up, rubbing his head.

"What the hell?!" he said, groggy and unstable. "It's the middle of the night, Astrid, what are you doing here?"

"It's not the middle of the night," I scoffed. "It's just early morning."

"The sun's not even up!"

"Stop crying, you big baby."

He bit back a retort as I narrowed my eyes.

We lit the torches around the room to provide light for our plans. The camp didn't have running electricity, so they relied on torches and fires for most of their needs. It got annoying when my feet kept catching on vines entering the camp because I couldn't see where I was going.

"I was thinking," Snotlout said, sleep still plaguing his voice. "The day before Snoggletog Eve, a day before the ball. You could create a distraction with all the Selected girls and stuff out in the front of the building. I'm pretty sure I know where they're keeping him, so I can get him out with the help of the twins."

"Why then?" I asked, noticing he also called Christmas "Snoggletog". I brushed it off. "That seems late. For all we know, he could be dying today."

He leaned forward. "They're going to be swarming the castle like bees in a hive if they find Hiccup's been taken. On the day before Snoggletog Eve, it's enough time to disorient them, have time for Hiccup to collect himself, and prepare for the attack the next day." He leaned back in his chair as he wrote and drew outlines of the castle. "I know you, like, _care_ about him or something, and I promise that I'll listen for news on him every day. I bet I can find out when they're planning on holding the execution."

I nodded, biting my lip. I just wanted Hiccup to be safe.

Snotlout looked at the brightening sky out of the door to the hut. "Your parents are coming, aren't they? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

My eyes widened. _Shit!_ I completely forgot about that. That's why Jane wanted us downstairs!

How was I going to do all of this with my parents around? I wouldn't be spending any time in the castle if I'm helping lead the rebels!

I ran out of the hut as fast as I could and boarded Toothless. I got more than I expected when he stretched his wings and sprung off the ground and into the air.

 **Thank you all so much for all of your reviews. Keep em coming! They encourage me to write so much more. I love you all**


	19. Chapter 19

**SO sorry for the late update! more notes at the end of the chapter explaining my predicament**

 **I know a lot of you were wondering when you were getting that extra chapter. It originally was going to be this week, but some stuff got in the way so it will either be this week or next week. I promise it'll come, though!**

 **Review responses:**

 **Me: Ah you're so lovely. Thank you for your kind words 3**

 **theskrillrider: woo! Let's go kiddos!**

 **Silver Blue Eyed Wolf: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy it x**

 **NightxFury: Wow, thank you! (Sorry to post on Thursday :/) You are so kind! I'm glad you enjoy it (:**

 **EagleDragon15: There will be more Valka explanations in the coming chapters**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Yes, I know. Stoick does have a lot more power than Valka, though, and any regular person wouldn't dare say what she did to him.**

 **Lue: So sorry! o I'll be on time next week!**

I scrubbed my face thoroughly when I made it back to the castle. I tried to get every particle of dirt and sweat off to rid of any evidence that I had been gone.

I dressed back in my sleep clothes and climbed back into bed, pulling the sheets over my head. I tried to sleep more, but it never came. My thoughts kept drifting back to Hiccup. I imagined him in a cell, locked away from me, hungry and covered in filth. I couldn't sleep in the plush bed while thinking about what he could be going through.

At seven-thirty, my maids hurried into my room and opened the blinds. I acted like I was exhausted and groggy from sleep, but I was wide-awake and restless. I stretched my arms up toward the ceiling and let out a groan.

"Wake up, sleepy-head!" chirped Dory. "Your family is here!"

They fit me into a maroon dress that had a belt of glittering gold gems. The color scheme reminded me of Valka's dress I had seen yesterday. I told myself to make sure to talk to her. I needed to see her.

They wrapped my hair into a large bun at the back of my head. They powdered my face and lined my eyes and did all the things I had nearly no patience for. Though, to my relief, they laid out a pair of small gold flats instead of dreaded heels.

When finished with their product, they stood back and beamed proudly.

I gave them a not-so-reassuring smile.

They let me walk down to greet my family. I took my time, brushing my hand against the wall and stopping to admire paintings I had passed a hundred times before. I was eager to see my family, yes, but I don't know if they'd want to see me. Would they think I had been softened up by the castle? A girl that wore wealth dangling from her ears and around her wrists? Dresses that cost more than double our house?

My mother, also, was good at reading people. She would be able to tell something was on my mind, and I wasn't ready to tell her. Or anyone, for that matter. I didn't need my family finding out anything about what was going on in the castle.

I heard the crowd before I saw it. I stepped down the stairs and looked at the crowd of people in the main hall. There were regular citizens, celebrities, athletes, farmers, people of all kinds standing around.

I recognized a popular singer with large sunglasses on, hugging one of the Selected girls who looked very similar to her. I saw a famous football player standing next to his daughter, posing for a picture. They were in their best attire, dresses and suits and fancy jewelry of all kinds.

I then saw my family. My mother with a new blue sundress and my father in a tie. Gustav was in a rumpled shirt with a bowtie. They wore their best to come see me, a thousand miles away.

My mother raised her hand to her mouth when she saw me, eyes glistening with unshed tears. My dad was trying to contain his emotions, too. Gustav was admiring the gold statues, not really looking at me much. Typical of him

I ran over to them and embraced them, holding them close and tight. My mother's cheeks were wet with tears as she pressed her head into my neck. We all held each other for a solid minute before letting go and smiling as we looked at each other's faces.

"I am so proud of you," my mother murmured, fixing the necklace around my neck. My heart swelled to hear those words. It was, really, all I wanted my parents to be. Proud of me.

"How are you all?" I asked, looking to my father and Gustav.

"Thanks to the money we receive every week," Mom started, a grin on her face. "We were able to purchase a new home. A better home."

A laugh of disbelief escaped my lips. I felt like they were better off back home than I was in the castle, surrounded by betrayals and scandals and dangers.

"The twins are doing just fine," Dad said. For a second, I thought he was talking about the Thorstons. I'd referred to them as "the twins" much more in my mind than I was thinking about my adopted siblings. I quickly reminded myself to stop thinking about my hybrid allies.

"They are strong and growing. Fast crawlers, they are!" Dad continued.

It made me sad that I'd be missing such important marks in their lives. I'd probably miss their first steps and words, I'd be stuck in this castle. Unless we were caught, of course, in our mission. Which was highly likely.

"You, too! You've grown so strong and healthy," Mom beamed, poking my bare arm.

 _Unlike Hiccup, at the moment,_ I thought. _He probably isn't eating or drinking anything._ I shuffled in my stance, uncomfortable at the thought.

"You're distracted," Mom said bluntly.

I raised an eyebrow at her. I had forgotten that she was always very straightforward. I hadn't dealt with that in months. "I- uh, I've got a lot on my mind."

Mom leaned forward, a smirk playing on her lips. "A certain _boy_ , mm?"

My heart stopped. I thought she had found out in some weird way, but I regained my composure and told myself she was talking about _Eret,_ not Hiccup. Gods, this was going to be a long visit.

"Ah, not exactly," was all I responded to. It wasn't a complete lie.

I was thankful when the doors opened and the crowds started flooding into the dining hall. "Let's go eat. Their food is amazing."

Gustav nearly fell over when we entered the room. Platters with meats and cheeses, along with bowls of fruits and plates of different breads and pastries were all laid out. Pitchers of fresh juices were set on the table, along with an entire bowl of lemon slices next to the water jug. I had been used to seeing this when I walked in, but I doubt Gustav had ever seen such a sight.

My parents' mouths gaped as they saw the glimmering chandeliers and tapestries that hung on the walls that were almost three stories high. They let out soft gasps when they saw the enormous portraits of previous kings and queens, decorated beautifully with materials they haven't seen often.

Mom ran her hand on one of the large marble columns that were around the edges of the ginormous eating area. She tapped the expensive rock with her nail, eyes wide and disbelieving. Dad ran his foot on the tile floor, its shiny surface reflecting back on us.

They had never seen anything like this their entire lives, and I was living in it every day.

They sat next to me carefully, as if not wanting to damage the plush cushions or the crafted wood of the chair. They traced the plates and the several forks and spoons laid out in front of them with awe.

When I heard a few gasps and I saw Dad straighten his tie, I turned to see the king walking to his dining throne. He was wearing pretty casual clothes, for the king, which was still a large cape and a nice uniform, but I knew that didn't matter to my family. It was the first time seeing their king in real life. They would expect him to be marvelous, just like I had.

Being a family of Sevens, I never grew up being very fond of our ruler. But it was always interesting to think about meeting him in real life.

"He's _huge,"_ muttered Gustav.

"She's pretty," commented Dad, and Mom smacked his arm but simultaneously agreed.

I noticed that Valka's face was a bit more pink than usual. It wasn't the shade of blush that you got from flirting or talking to your crush, it seemed like the kind of red you got when you were screaming your head off at them. I knew that they had been arguing over Hiccup, and I had a feeling that she was having a hard time getting her point across. I needed to talk to her.

"Welcome, families," boomed the king, stretching his arms out as he stood before his throne. "We welcome you to the royal palace and we hope you enjoy your stay here. Each family will have a personal maid to wait on them if anything is needed. We will be around to chat! Enjoy your meal!"

It was a short intro, shorter than Stoick's usual speeches. I knew from the sweat on his brow, he was nervous. Possibly about his argument with Valka about their son. I chose to assume

People dug into the dishes like animals. Gustav took two gigantic egg omelets and a pile of sausage and bacon. Dad piled on all the hash browns he could eat, and Mom dug into a bowl of fruit.

I picked at a small bowl of yogurt. I had no appetite, too much was on my mind. With all this going on, I didn't notice hardly any hunger or have enough time to care about it. My needs were not at stake here. I was responsible for so many people.

"That's all you're eating, dear?" Mom asked, watermelon filling her mouth.

I smiled as I put my spoon down after swirling my yogurt around aimlessly. "I'm used to this food. I'm not very hungry."

Mom shrugged and tossed another cantaloupe cube in her mouth. "Tell me more about what you're used to."

So I recounted what I experienced here at the castle to my family. I kept an eye on Valka and Stoick the entire time, looking for any clues that could lead to anything. I tried to immerse myself into my stories, to forget about everything that was happening, but of course, I couldn't. The image of a starving Hiccup kept playing through my mind, making me push my yogurt further away.

Valka sat considerably far from Stoick. She didn't sit in her usual throne beside his, rather standing and talking with some servants a few meters away. She cast a look around the room, and when her eyes met mine, she glided gracefully over to me.

"Lady Hofferson," she greeted with her signature smile.

I stood and curtsied, trying to show respect and wanting my family to do the same. I smiled as I gestured to my family, for she obviously wanted to meet them.

"Your Majesty, this is my mother, father, and younger brother," I listed.

My mother stood abruptly and bent her knees exaggeratedly to show the utmost respect. "Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you! I _love_ your clothing line. Up until now, though, I was never able to afford it. It's wear I got this dress!"

Mom was always enthusiastic when it came to things she was very passionate about. She reminded me of Hiccup and how he always rambled when he started to talk or explain anything.

"My, my, how flattering! I thought I recognized that dress," Valka said, a playful smile on her face.

Before she could start casually chatting with my mother, I cleared my throat and leaned in closer to her. "Can I speak to you later?" I didn't have an exact plan in my mind with what I wanted to tell her. I could make it up while I waited, though.

Valka nodded, saying to meet me in the Women's Lounge at eight. I agreed and left my family to mingle with their queen.

Of course, I was happy to see them. But truthfully, I could see it in their eyes that they wanted me to win this competition. They wanted to stay in the palace of riches and have these luxuries, and I only knew that they'd show such explicit emotions was because they had a close chance of _getting_ them. Through me.

The worst emotion or expression anyone can ever give or feel toward me is disappointment. I didn't want to see their hopeful faces too often because I knew that later they'd be disappointed. To know their daughter wouldn't win. To know their daughter didn't want to win. To know their daughter was a traitor.

I drifted around the dining hall. Some families sat and ate, while others were standing in huddles, greeting one another. Some families knew each other, while others were making close friends. I saw Anna, next to a girl that looked a bit older than her. A sister, maybe, but with very pale skin and platinum blond hair. I spotted Heather with two large men, both with scraggly red hair, and a short woman with the same raven-colored hair. Near her, I caught a glimpse of Anastasia with an old woman who looked to be her grandmother.

I weaved through them, happy to see everyone with their loved ones. The happy faces and moist eyes made my heart lift some. It helped restore some faith in this castle and the world.

* * *

Not much else happened with my family.

We shared memories of the time I had been apart from them. They were loving their new lives with the money. Everyone wanted Mom to be their gardener, people were practically throwing money at Dad to fix their machines, and Gustav wouldn't stop going on about how many girls were "chasing after him". It seemed as if everyone in Dakota was rooting for me, that included supporting my parents and family. They were quite popular around town, now, apparently. This made me stop and think.

Going through with the plan could mean a lot of new things. If I publicly joined the hybrid rebellion, that could put my parents' good name to shame. People would look down at them, boycott their services, and ruin them. Perhaps all Sevens in the country would be looked at in distaste because of me and what I'd done.

On the other hand, people were counting on me. Lots and lots of people who were hanging on a limb to survive and were depending on me to fight for them and their rights. Hiccup's life was depending on me, as were the hybrids in the camp.

Seeing my family again made me second-guess myself as to what I was going to do in this fight. Would I go through with this? Could I leave the camp to Snotlout?

I knew I had to go with what my gut told me. My gut told me to fight. Fight for the rebels and Hiccup.

I was pacing in my room while my parents settled into their room with Gustav. Their maid, Minnie, was quite eager to get them set up, so I trusted they'd be distracted for a bit.

I tried to figure out what I should say to the queen. I needed to tell her _something._ That I knew Hiccup was her son? That I knew about him being taken captive?

 _I just wanted to leave this castle._ I thought. _It's too much._

That's when it clicked. I'd tell Valka that I wanted to leave! I'd tell her the truth, of course. I didn't love Eret, and there was no future for me here. Maybe I'd slip in something about the rebels, plant a seed of doubt in her about the castle and government. I knew she was uneasy with her husband. I might as well have taken a chance to turn her against him, right?

In the midst of my thoughts, a knock sounded at the door. I brushed the stray hairs behind my ears and I smoothed the skirts of

Eret was standing there. I fought back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Lady Astrid," he said, bowing.

I curtsied.

"May I come in?"

I wanted to say no. I almost did. I tried. Luckily, my brain acted before I could blurt the wrong thing out. "Of course."

He kissed my cheek and strode over to my desk where my chair was. While he was turned away, I wiped the kiss off of my cheek quickly.

"I have made a large decision. One I hope you'll be pleased with," he began, taking my pencil off of my desk and twirling it in my hand.

I pursed my lips. This couldn't be good.

Eret continued. "I have chosen you, Lady Astrid, to be my bride. You've won the Selection."

I knew it was bad, but not _this_ bad. It was way too soon for a winner to be decided. Sometimes, a Selection could wane on for months and months, years even. It was only… what? Three or four months into it? From some books I had read, the average time it takes for a prince to sort all the ladies out and pick one is about seven months. Something was wrong.

"Isn't it soon?" I said, trying to hide my discomfort with fake enthusiasm. "There's still a lot of girls left."

"Fourteen, to be exact!" Eret cried joyfully. "And I pick you!"

He grabbed my hands and twirled me around. My arms twisted awkwardly, for I wasn't exactly expecting the bold move. I don't know how good of an actress I was, but I wasn't trying very hard to make him trust me. But it seemed like he genuinely wanted to choose me and that was surprising.

"Ha- uh… w-what are you going to do with the other girls?" I asked, trying not to let the nerves get to me.

"Oh, I'll let them all go eventually," he answered. "You'll be the last one standing. You're worth it."

I bit my lip. I couldn't think of anything to say in response to him.

"Thank you," was all I said. You'd think, playing the part of a girl trying to earn the prince's trust, I'd act happy and delighted. That I'd be a lovestruck dove falling into his arms. But a small thought popped into my brain as I looked into his not-so-green eyes.

I had already _won_ it.

He trusted me. He _fell_ for me (God knows how), and he wanted to _marry_ me. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and share his kingdom with me. That was terrifying because he didn't know who I really was. He "fell" for someone that wasn't me at all.

His face, though, broke into a grin. He hugged me, and I didn't hug back. I was done playing his puppet.

"Get out of my room," I said softly. Not in a commanding tone, but firm. He smiled, to a bit of my surprise, and bowed to me.

"As you wish, my love," he crooned. He left after blowing me a kiss in which I did not catch.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I sprung into action. I shimmied out of my maroon dress and slipped on a jacket and black pants. I let my hair out of the bun and I braided it down my back.

I was going to see the queen. I was finally going to leave this place.

 **My apologies for the terrible chapter! Track season has started, I have missing work to make up, and a little problem occurred where my room was a bit infested with bugs :P (it was awful but is currently being taken care of)**

 **Quite the filler, awful to write o**

 **Trust me when I say it'll pick up in the next one, I hope you're not too disappointed. I have an incredibly busy life, and writing on-time can get challenging xD**

 **I usually write in study hall, but we had an assembly today during that period and my teachers keep giving us loads of homework to do, so I'm occupied. This week should clear up, though.**

 **Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's y'alls extra chapter that I promised.**

 **I didn't get a chance to talk about RTTE in the last chapter! I really really liked it! I haven't been a fan of Heather the past seasons, but I really liked her this season, surprisingly. The Hiccstrid completed my life.**

 **Review responses:**

 **Guest: AAAAAA THANK YOU**

 **A Potato: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it.**

 **BrawlerGamer: I miss my bby Hiccup too ):**

 **theskrillguy: Eret isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer hahahaa**

 **UnbreakableWarrior: Thanks (:**

 **gigidragons85: Wow, thank you so much, your words mean so much to me! I love leaving on cliffhangers lol**

 **Guest: Thank you! I do get hard on myself on my writing, but people like you encourage me to keep writing. Thank you x**

 **High King Gil-galad: Thank you! I'm not really a fan of writing in first person actually, it's much more difficult for me. I like writing in third-person much better, and the first drafts of this story it was actually written that way. But first-person just worked out better (: (And yes, Fish and the twins will be in more!)**

"Hello, Dear!" the queen greeted as she waved her cup of tea at me."You wanted to chat?"

I was back in the lounge. Back on that same couch with the same woman near the same piano. There was something about this room that always put me off. It was so luxurious, but every time I stepped inside I just knew something was wrong. It was a feeling I hadn't discovered until that last time I stepped through the door as a Selected.

"Yes," I said, making my way over to her as she patted the couch. My nerves made it feel very uncomfortable to sit next to her

"You have a lovely family," Valka said, offering me a cup of tea.

"Thank you. And no thank you, I prefer coffee."

"What do you want to discuss?" she asked, setting her tea on a coaster on the side table. She looked at me with a slight smirk. "Has Eret told you yet?"

I sat back, a sigh escaping my lips. "Yes, he told me." I knew my expression told her that I wasn't necessarily pleased with the news. I almost made an attempt to control my expression, but figuring that I'd be leaving, I didn't.

'You're not pleased," the queen noted, reading my expression.

"I'm not," I admitted. My eyes cast down to my feet on the floor. I didn't want to

"But you're in love."

"Pardon?" Did she not hear the part where I told her I wasn't happy with Eret wanting to marry me? I was so very _not_ in love with Eret. How could she say that?

"Maybe not with Eret," Valka said. "But I know the look on your face. You've changed since you've been here. You're in love with someone."

I bit my lip and looked down. Looking into her eyes seemed like the hardest thing to do. I had never really been in love before, so this whole experience was new to me. New feelings and emotions that I've barely touched. Valka could tell all of it. She was right, as usual.

I felt like crying. I had betrayed the queen. She knew that it was treason and could easily have me killed for it. I could be sent to the dungeon with Hiccup.

"I'm sorry," I croaked, voice cracking unpleasantly and embarrassingly. "I have to leave."

"Leave the castle? Let yourself out of the competition?"

I nodded, blinking away tears that were forming in my eyes. I don't know where the sudden and complete trust came from, but I let something slip out of my mouth before I could think about it.

"They're going to kill him," I whispered, choked up. My mind was too fuzzy to think about the consequences of saying that to the queen.

Her eyes widened with realization and she mouthed Hiccup's name. I didn't respond. I was being weak, letting my emotions take reign again. I really needed to stop doing that, I kept letting my guard down.

Valka leaned forward, taking my hands in hers. She had a sad look in her eyes, filled with regret that hit my core. "We can stop it," she said.

I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket. "Stop what?"

"We can get him out."

"What? No! It's too dangerous for you. Stoick's already mad at you, there are going to be eyes on you everywhere!"

Valka leaned back. "Then what do you suppose we'll do?"

"First off," I said, hardly registering that the queen, the second most powerful person in the country, wanted to help me and her son. " _You_ won't do anything except stay out of our way."

Valka's eyebrows knit together. "Our?"

I nodded and started talking.

* * *

An arm yanked me back out of the crowd we were standing in, taking me away from the queen's side.

"Hofferson!" Snotlout hissed. "What is the queen doing here?"

I had taken her to the camp. I told her about the hybrids (which was a large risk on my part, which fortunately paid off), and she desired to see it for herself. She knew we were the best chance she had of saving her son.

The first thing I did was pull my arm back. Then I punched him. "Don't grab me!" I rolled my shoulders back, adjusting my posture. "She has agreed to help us get Hiccup back. She thinks she can help."

"Do you know how dangerous this is?!"

"Of course I do!" I seethed through my teeth. "But we need all the help that we can get!"

"How do you know she'll actually help us?" Snotlout snarled. The more he continued to talk, the angrier and angrier I became. I was trying to _help,_ because taking on an entire castle was going to be hard, even with Snotlout technically controlling the guards.

"Because she-"

"I can speak for myself," a friendly voice said from behind me, cutting me off.

It was Valka, except for not in a slender gown as I usually had seen her. She wore what looked like to be old hunting clothes under a worn leather jacket. They fit perfectly, so I had to assume that they were her clothes. Tall brown boots and a large fur hood that was much different from the heels and tiaras she usually wore. Her hair, which was often wrapped into a tight bun, now cascaded far down in several braids. She held a staff I had never seen before, but fit her hand perfectly.

She looked like a warrior.

"Allow me to explain myself," Valka said. Even in her voice, I could tell she was more confident here, in the camp, surrounded by these people. I had no idea why. "I brought my own clothes here," she added, looking at me. "I wanted to be comfortable." She patted the bag at her side.

The queen, Snotlout, and I went into the conference hut with the long table and took seats around it. Valka sat at the head of the table, posture still incredibly straight and her chin held high.

"My father was a hybrid," she said, brushing some dirt off of her staff. "I have known discrimination. I have seen it many times."

I raised an eyebrow. That would explain how Hiccup was a hybrid, for I assumed it was a genetic condition. But why would Valka marry a man, Stoick, that was totally against her father's kind? Something that's in her own blood?

"I see the looks on your faces, children. Don't worry, I'll answer your questions." Her sad smile told me that she was taking time to remember her past.

She sighed and leaned back, posture faltering ever so slight.y. "We were Fives. A family of musicians." She gestured toward me. "As you know, I'm a classically trained pianist. I sing some, too. We would play parties and clubs and all kinds of events.

"We were pretty well off for Fives. We always had enough food and a decently small house, enough for our family of four. But it all changed when it got out to the public, the town, that my father was a hybrid. Oh, it was so awful, to see him struggle through it. People didn't want to book us for anything anymore, we were hated wherever we went because my father had a smidge of dragon DNA in him. Since there weren't as many hybrids back then, people didn't know what to do when they found one. They were scared and confused and filled with _hate._ "

A long sigh escaped her lips. "I signed up for Stoick's Selection when it came around to help out the family. Keep the money flowing, and maybe earn some respect for the family name. Stoick was a lot different back then, when I met him. He was optimistic, brave, and rather goofy. He had a free spirit, though his father was quite controlling." Another sigh. "Oh, how he worshiped his father. King Arvid II was everything to him. It was devastating to him when he died a month after our wedding, assassinated by a hybrid."

Valka set her staff down and pressed her lips together, remembering a distasteful memory. "Stoick was so distraught, he wanted every hybrid gone. Though I'm not one myself, I couldn't tell him about my father. It was too risky. I knew I should've when I gave birth to Hiccup and we found out he was a hybrid. A powerful one, too, we saw as he grew up. But it didn't matter. Stoick wouldn't have it. I wanted a son, he wanted an heir. I guess we both got what we wanted." A pause before she started speaking again. "It hurts me so much to not claim Hiccup as my own in the public eye. It kills me. But it's either that, or have Stoick do _God_ knows what to him."

She smiled, eyes glassy. "I never wanted to be the bad guy."

I scooted over to her and gave her a comforting embrace. Her bony body wrapped around me and reminded me very much of Hiccup's lanky build. An obviously fake cough interrupted the embrace.

"I know he's still a good man," Valka sniffed, her emotions getting the better of her. "He has bad advisors who persuade him to make bad choices because they want power. I've tried to talk him out of everything against hybrids and unfair laws, but he's too damn stubborn."

"At least we know where Hiccup gets it," I said with a smile.

"Indeed."

Another clearing of the throat from Snotlout brought us back to reality. His feet, per usual, were kicked up on the table and his hands were interlocked behind his head in a casual position. He looked bored and was waiting for us to pay attention.

"Now then, I can tell you what news _I_ have," the major general said.

The queen and I looked at each other. I didn't know that he had new news for us. Could it have been that important if he didn't tell me that he had something to say beforehand?

"Being my amazing and heroic self," Snotlout continued, his nose wrinkled. "I sniffed around the dungeon guards and higher ranking officers and found when Hiccup is to be executed."

I stood up, knocking my chair back behind me. "What? When?!" I noticed Valka had done the same thing with her eyes wide. I asked her, "Wait, how do you not know the date of when it's supposed to happen?"

"They wouldn't tell me!"

"It's supposed to happen tomorrow," Snotlout said.

I faced him, determination painted over my features. "We have to get him out. _Now."_

"This very second?"

"Every second that passes by is another that Hiccup is suffering and closer to death! We need to carry out the plan as soon as possible!"

Snotlout scratched his chin while in thought. "We have the queen now, so the task might be easier.

Next thing I knew, a small band of hybrids, about ten or so, were gearing up next to me.

Leather armor was tossed over our heads and clung snugly to our bodies over the black clothes we were fitted in. We were given belts that had a large sheathed knife on them, some of us armed with small pistols (if necessary, thanks to Snotlout). There were hoods over our heads and masks that would go up to over our noses to disguise our enemies. I had to admit, I felt pretty badass.

Valka changed out of her practical outfit and was dressed in her deep green gown. She wove her hair back into its original bun and placed the small tiara on the crown of her head. A few other women then surrounded her, asking permission to do things for the mission. The queen agreed, and they set to work.

One took a knife and pierced it through the fabric of her dress, ripping an uneven slit in her skirts. While she was tattering up her dress, another woman took handfuls of dirt and mud, smearing it on her dress and skin. The third woman took colored berries and used their juices to make it look like blood and bruising. After bustling around her in flurries, they stood back to admire their work.

"I am ready," Valka stated, smoothing her skirts down. She looked like a glorious disaster. It was perfect for the plan I had come up with, with the help of Snotlout.

I tucked my blond braid into my hood and pulled it over my head. I swiped my bangs behind my ear and yanked the black mask below my eyes. I boarded Toothless, patting the saddle behind me for Valka.

Valka was cautious at first. Toothless started sniffing her. When he sensed a faint trace of Hiccup, he licked her cheek giddily. She laughed as she climbed on behind me, holding on tightly.

It was a lovely evening. It was cool and crisp, the sky a brilliant orange-pink hue. There was a chilly wind that calmed the sweat that started to build underneath all of my armor. Birds crowed through the air and the trees rustled with the flowing air. The scene reminded me of autumn sunsets back home in Dakota.

Standing a few meters away, Snotlout put his fingers to his mouth and blew loudly, emitting a loud whistle. Soon after, a massive red dragon came plundering from the camp stables toward the group. The dragon circled around Snotlout before plopping back down in the dirt, eyes drooping and nose flaring with soft snores.

"Hookfang!" the black-haired boy shouted. He placed his foot on the shoulder of the beast and nudged hard in attempt to wake him. Smoke curled out of Hookfang's nostrils in annoyance as yellow eyes opened to glare at his rider.

After a few minutes, the large dragon reluctantly rose to its feet. Snotlout grabbed his gun and clipped it to his belt to finish his guard uniform and hauled himself onto the brown saddle. I saw him sit up taller as he addressed the rest of the group of hybrids.

"We head out immediately. Group A, go with Lady Hofferson to the cell. Group B will stay in the royal horse stables in case we need backup. Wait for the signal by the bell tower, Phlegma will shine the flashlight. The sun should be setting by then, so it's visible."

He looked to me and Valka atop of the Night Fury. "You know where to drop her off."

I nodded firmly. I knew where. I was determined to win this battle. I was going to get Hiccup back.

"If you hear the bell ring once, and it shouldn't because the hour just passed, then it's an emergency and we'll have to retreat. Am I clear?"

Nods around the camp.

"Alright. Let's go."

The forest was a blur of blended greens and browns as Toothless surged forward alongside Hookfang. The hybrids were close behind us, running at their top speeds which was almost equal to the dragons themselves.

We were at the fence within a matter of minutes. We used the dragons to get over the tall structure, flapping their wings and us jumping over. Three-quarters of the group of hybrids darted off into the stables, taking place in their hideout.

Snotlout saluted to me, which puzzled me at first, then made his way over to the east side of the castle. I turned to see who was left behind. It was me, Valka, the twins, and the huge boy, Fishlegs. Fishlegs was flipping through a small booklet, obvious sweat glistening on his forehead, while the twins were trying to break each other's fingers. Casual.

A bit of fear sparked through me. It was up to me to get everyone back here safely. I was basically responsible for their lives, should anything go wrong.

I had to push those feelings aside, though. There was not enough room for both fear and Astrid Hofferson.

I turned to the queen. "Ready?"

"To save my son?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Of course." Her smile eased the blood rushing through my veins. It was amazing how she had that effect on people.

"I hope I get to kill someone!" Tuff hollered. "How _awesome_ would that be?"

"Not as awesome as me killing someone first!" yelled Ruff. "Even better, _as_ they're trying to kill _me!"_

"It's only fun if you get a scar out of it," I muttered, trying to contain my smile at their ridiculous comments.

"Remember, you'll find the outdoor entrance to the dungeons beneath the balcony with the dragon crest on the west side of the castle. It's hidden under bushes. The lock code is 02-29-98."

"02-29-98," I repeated. "Okay, got it." The numbers made it seem like a specific date of sorts.

We ran up the grassy hill to get to the castle. Poor Fishlegs was out of breath at the top, wheezing and bending over in order to breathe normally.

"When I get in there, you four _run,"_ the queen ordered in a hushed voice.

The dim light coming through the grand windows of the palace cast a yellow glow on her face. The hybrid women did a wonderful job with the special effects, in this lighting, the bruising looked as real as ever. Hopefully, she'd be able to pull the act off.

"Yes, ma'am," Tuffnut said with a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

Valka took a deep breath and shut her eyes. She gave me a tight hug before getting up and heading to one of the side entrances of the central wing. She tugged some strands of hair out of her bun. She sprinkled a few leaves through it and found a small twig by her feet at the door in which she stuck through her hair.

When I saw her inhale, I motioned for the other three hybrids to follow me. We needed to get out of there before the guards came. We slinked in the dark shadows of the castle, treading quietly on the grass.

It wasn't long before we heard a very believable wail come from inside. " _Help! Rebels! Up the hill, by the big oak! Tons of them!"_

We quickened our pace, but we all had smirks on. The big oak tree was far from the stables, where our backup was. It was far from the castle, too. Almost a mile out from the main entrance, I calculated on one of my runs. Our spirits lifted higher when we heard Snotlout's booms echoing through an open window above our heads.

" _We need all the men we can get to defeat them! Guards, leave your posts, your time is now!"_

This was going to be fun.

 **(~o_o)~ cliffhanger? lil bit.**

 **I looove writing action. I'm excited. Are you? (;**

 **Did anyone catch what I did with the lock? 02-29-98? The first four numbers are Hiccup's birthday. I made the year random. Valka really cares for her bby u**

 **Fave and follow and leave a review!**

 **x**


	21. Chapter 21

**HAPPY HAPPY (KIND OF) BIRTHDAY TO HICCUP HADDOCK!**

 **Hey y'all!**

 **I love love loved to write this one. It was so much fun!**

 **Sorry if chapters start to get shorter and/or lower quality. I have track every day, I just got hired at a new job, and I have skating every day I don't have work! XD I'm quite busy. But I'll get chapters up every week! That's a promise.**

 **Review responses:**

 **giselemaciel446: Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you like it. I understand how you feel about Astrid in the beginning. I was still testing the waters with my writing.**

 **Me: Yep, still a chapter every week! I'm glad you're excited xD That's from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, isn't it? London Tipton xD**

 **jackie016: AAAH sorry about the cliffhanger! I hope this satisfies you a bit**

 **Silver Blue Eyed Wolf: Aww thank you**

 **Nina: *hugs***

 **theskrillrider: muchos gracias!**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: thank you, as always x (:**

 **Tussey: yeah boiii**

 **Guests: Thank you so much!**

 **A Potato: it's about to go down my dude (thx v much (: )**

harrypanther: **thank you! Stoick is one tough cookie to figure out**

 **RedLegoManiac: Thank you for pointing that out xD I corrected it as fast as I could.**

Streams of guards left the castle, rushing out to greet the supposed "army" of hybrids. Fun fact, there was no army there.

Ruff and Tuff were cackling under their breaths as we crept along the edge of the castle walls. Fishlegs was tip-toeing as quietly as he could, but sticks still snapped and rocks ricocheted off each other with almost every step that he took.

Shouts from the soldiers echoed off the large stone walls that we crept against. We peered from afar at them hastily climb the hill that led up to the big oak tree at the top. They were still at least a half mile away, but we still needed to get moving fast or we'd be caught.

We scoured the walls of the castle, looking for any balcony with any sign of a dragon crest. There were stained glass windows with beautiful depictions of dragons and knights that had several crests on them, but no balcony. I was starting to worry that Valka wasn't on our side and sent us to our capture.

I shook those thoughts out of my head. There was no way she would do that, after what she told us. She wanted to save Hiccup, her son.

I broke into a jog, as my mind got the best of me. I wanted to find this dungeon and get off of the castle grounds as quickly as I could. There was an off-feeling to this, and I wanted to get Hiccup before anything could go wrong.

The others followed from a short distance, making sure that no one was following from behind us. I scouted ahead, peering around every corner and nook and cranny there was to see.

I led my small ensemble to a patch of bushes which was blocking our path. I unsheathed the small machete I was armed with and slashed the foliage out of our way to create a path for us. I quickly stopped when I heard shuffling on the other side of the bushes, around the corner of the wall.

I motioned for the others to quiet down as I leaned forward to listen closely.

"Come on, men!" a male voice shouted. I sucked in a breath. It was just a pod of soldiers that was passing by to get to the oak hill.

As they hustled out, one stopped to retie his boot. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the actions of this soldier. Now, if _I_ were that soldier…

My thoughts halted, along with my heartbeat, when the guard stopped moving. His brow was furrowed as if he were puzzled by something. He then slowly turned to the bushes where we were hiding behind. I took a small back, careful not to make any sound as my heart leaped up to my throat.

The guard stood slowly and took a few cautious steps toward us. I turned to look at my hybrid companions. Their faces, washed in dim light, were panic-stricken as they saw the guard approach faster. Surely, he wasn't able to see us from this position?

I gritted my teeth. This one, stupid soldier was not going to ruin my mission and keep me from Hiccup. Not today.

As I heard the boot of the guard very near to the plants, I leaped to my feet and reared back, punching him right in the nose and knocking him out cold.

I hissed as my knuckles cracked and my fist stung. The adrenaline zooming through my veins really did make me hit him hard, it looked as if he were going to be out for quite a while.

"Damn," Tuffnut said. I turned back to my friends, and their eyes were all wide open in awe. The male twin turned to his sister. "Why don't _you_ ever hit me like that?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my hand out, easing away the faint pain that throbbed in my knuckles. I slashed the rest of the bushes aside and stepped through, motioning for the others to follow when I scouted the coast to be clear.

I nearly sobbed with relief when I spotted a balcony with a barely visible dragon carved into the marble. I sprinted over to the massive pillars that held the structure up, facing the thorn-infested bushes that were as tall as Fishlegs.

This wouldn't be easy.

I started to hack away at the plants, the sharp points grazing my arms and drawing blood even standing a foot away from it. I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore the pain. Hiccup could be right below me. My damsel in distress needed me.

"Hold on, A-Hoff," Tuffnut said, holding his arms out. A-Hoff? Was that my new nickname? "Let me do it. Sharp things are my _forte."_

Sure enough, when I reluctantly handed him my machete, he plowed through the bushes as is there was no tomorrow.

I took my weapon back as soon as I could, seeing Tuff's mischievous grin plastered on his face. He made a small path, just wide enough to get through so we weren't impaled by the plants. Fishlegs wasn't as fortunate, so he told us he'd stay up and keep watch.

We came across a set of metal storm cellar doors with a large lock bolted to the handles. "02-29-98," I muttered as I crouched down over the doors. I was barely able to see the numbers on the circular lock, as the sun had already shone its last rays of light that evening. The moon wasn't much of a help, and the windows around us provided next to no light.

"Do you guys have anything that could give me a little more light?" I asked, looking to the twins.

Tuffnut dug around his pockets and shrugged, coming up empty handed. Ruffnut pawed something in the small satchel at her side, pulling out a small cardboard box.

"I dunno if these'll help," she said. "But I have some matches."

I snatched the box from her hands and struck one aflame. "02-29-98," I murmured again, spinning the lock to match each of the numbers. I had never seen a lock that went up to the number 100, before. I guess it was just a royals thing. Had to have fancy everything, including the locks on the storm cellar doors to your dungeons.

Tuff and I hauled one of the heavy doors open, revealing damp cement steps that were coated in thick sheets of cobwebs. Years of water dripping from the entry above caused the floor to erode and crumble under too much weight, making it very unstable. It was clear, shown by the mold and moss growing around the cramped passageway, that no one had used this entry in _years_.

Seeing the darkness of the passage, I groaned internally. How I wished to have a flashlight.

Instead, I equipped myself with a moderately sized stick. I then ripped off a chunk of my tunic that was underneath the armor and wrapped it around the front end of the stick. Taking Ruff's matches, I managed to light a weak torch that wouldn't last long, but had just enough life to get us to Hiccup. At least, I hoped.

I held my makeshift torch in one hand and pressed my other against the sodden wall to keep my balance. I stepped lightly on the steep stairs, trying my hardest not to let them collapse. The last thing we wanted was not being able to have a way out of these chambers.

Ruff and Tuff followed me closely, unusually quiet for their natural state. Whenever I was around them, they were cheery or snickering, never with concerned looks on their faces and examining the walls with close precision. It almost made the hairs on my neck stand up.

Large spiders nested in and around the walls and corners of the stone bricks. Blocks that had come loose and fallen from their place on the wall were now homes for mice that scuttled around our feet. The air was muggy and humid, it felt as if there were no room to breathe. Along with the webs we kept walking into, I just wanted to _leave._

Though an old, moldy wooden door, the halls opened up. Thankfully, before Tuffnut had picked a rat up off of the ground and plopped it atop his sister's head. The twins were a great help, but they were hard to control. I could only handle so much Thorston.

The ceilings in the new rooms were still low, but they didn't remind me of climbing through the vents above the king's head. The walls weren't scattered with insects and webs, there weren't rodents skittering at our feet. People had been there, people were using that area.

The torch's flame was burning low, so we didn't have much time. I scanned the room, squinting my eyes to try to focus on any objects that could be used as another source of light. I was about to examine what looked to be a branch in the corner of the room when Tuffnut called out.

"Hey, this'll help!" he said from behind me. The room was washed in a white light coming from a lantern that he was holding.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, stepping toward him and looking at the light. I didn't want to fall into any trap or anything that would get us caught.

"On the desk," the male twin responded, pointing to a desk nestled in a corner. I took the lantern from his hands and stepped toward the desk, looking over the contents strewn across the surface. I set the light down and studied what was left.

There were a few forms, with information that looked to be regarding the prisoners kept in the cells. Sifting through the documents, I didn't find anything with Hiccup on it, or his name, or anything related to him. I pursed my lips, wondering where they'd be keeping him.

Glancing down once more, I noticed what looked to be a sketch of something underneath one of the manila folders. I pulled the folder aside to look at the picture more clearly, holding it under the light from the bulb inside the lantern.

"A map," I breathed. There were cells with numbers that were also labeled with names. Names of _prisoners._

I almost bounced up and down with excitement. We were going to find him. I was going to get Hiccup back.

Boxes and rectangles were printed in faded ink on the yellow paper. There looked to be about a dozen or so cells down one of the main hallways, which seemed not to be far from where we were standing. There was a handful of smaller cells by what looked to be another exit that led to the outdoors, leading to one of the courtyards.

Something told me that Hiccup was there, in one of the cells right outside of the execution square.

"I'll check these cells over here," I said, pointing to the ones I believed Hiccup to be in. "You two scan these cells in the main passage."

The twins agreed, and we set down the winding passages of the palace dungeons. As I tiptoed ahead of our small group, looking for any signs of stray guards, I accidentally kicked an object that skittered loudly across the floor.

I cursed under my breath, staying still to listen for any movement. I stood at a standstill for a minute before shining the light on the ground. A black cylinder lay on the ground a few feet from where I was standing.

"How convenient," I said, crouching down to pick up the dusty flashlight I had kicked. Pressing the button on the end of it, a dim bulb flickered on and cast a small amount light on the wall it was pointed at. I smiled triumphantly. That way I could see while I went to find Hiccup, otherwise, I'd have to give the twins my lantern.

The halls opened up again, the air much more fresh and crisp. At least, for being a dungeon. Luckily for us, the lantern illuminated the walls so that shiny silver reflected back at us. Going over to the source of the glinting metal, we find a few different key rings. One for each wing of cells.

"How many prisoners do they need to keep down here?" I murmured as I looked at the rows of keys.

Tuff and Ruff took the lantern and the ring to their passage, while I was stuck with the half-dead flashlight. It was worth it for Hiccup, though.

I didn't have a doubt in my mind that there were bigger, overhead lights lit up the room like any other. But we couldn't take the risk of someone seeing lights in the dungeons when no one was supposed to be down there. I was willing to compromise, leaving visibility and keeping our free lives.

I prided myself on being fearless, though I had to admit, the dungeon was a bit creepy.

Dripping water echoed throughout the cells, water from the rain that week. There were a few squeaks and scuttles from stray rodents that made it into the main corridors of the prison. The last thing I wanted on my mind was the thought of someone lurking in the shadows… watching me…

A chill ran up my spine and I shivered. I hurried over to the hall where I was to scan. It seemed eerily quiet, so I shined my light around hesitantly.

There were three small cells with thick metal bars pressed up against the concrete block wall. They were a dull metal, rusted over and old, but looked strong. Weirdly strong.

 _Why would they keep these three thicker cells away from the rest?_ I wondered. I thought hard, reasons piling around my brain.

It clicked. They were cells meant for _hybrids._

I traced the pad of my finger over the surface of the metal. Of course it was extremely strong- it had to withstand their super strength or else they'd break out. They needed special metal to contain them.

I pointed my flashlight through the cage of the one I was tracing, and it landed on a form that was hurdling toward me at an alarming rate.

I shrieked and leaped back away from the bars. Glowing green eyes with slitted pupils narrowed at me, teeth bared and hands swiping through the bars. Breathing hard, I recollected my flashlight and shined it on the prisoner.

I covered my mouth. It was _Hiccup._

His mane of auburn hair was matted and covered in dirt, unwashed for days. He was shirtless, only wearing rags for pants. His underweight torso was covered in dirt and bruises and slashes. I couldn't tell if he acquired them just recently or over time.

His eyes were _savage._ I had never seen anything so purely _wild_ come from a human before. It was very alarming.

Why was he _hissing_ at me? How did he not recognize me?

I pulled the mask off of my face and stood up, mustering up every last drop of courage that I had in my body. I took a step toward the uncontrolled hybrid, and shined the flashlight on my own face. I hoped to God that he recognized me so that I could get him out of this hellhole.

"Hiccup, it's me," I coaxed, still unsure what his problem was. "It's Astrid. It's okay."

With the light in my face, I couldn't see anything but his glowing eyes. To my relief, his pupils expanded back into their oval shape. I set the flashlight down, pointed at the ceiling, so I could see him as well as me.

Hiccup's features relaxed as he listened to my voice and looked at my face. He stopped spazzing and started to regain his composure.

"Astrid," his nasal voice croaked. I wanted to melt into the floor with the way he said my name. "They're turning me into a monster. They're bringing out this beast."

"Shh." I stepped forward, stroking his dirtied cheeks with my hands. He looked absolutely pained and distraught, emotions boiling in his eyes. Not to mention he was disgustingly filthy, but I kept touching his skin anyway. "I'm going to get you out of here, babe."

"They're going to kill me," he mumbled, leaning against the bars with a dazed look. What the hell was wrong with him?

I snatched his bony shoulders and made him face me. "No, they're _not,"_ I said firmly. "We're gonna get out of here, you hear me? You and I, together."

I grabbed his nasty face, pulling his head toward mine and kissed his nasty lips. Though it was a desperate kiss, with his terrible breath and gnashing teeth, it was perfect. I would not let the castle or the guards take that away from me.

"Stay with me," I whispered as I pulled away and rested my forehead on his. Remembering that the guards could be on their way back any second, I got to work. I sifted through the keys on the ring, trying to find the right one that would fit his lock. It did at my second attempt, a click of the gate releasing most of my anxiety.

He fell into my arms. I couldn't tell if it was the fact that he was hardly strong enough to stand or he was glad to see me, but I didn't have time to ask. I swung his arm around my shoulders and assisted his walking (or should I say, stumbling) calling out for the twins to come back.

"Holy shit, dude," Tuffnut said breathlessly as he and Ruff ran into the room. "You look terrible."

Hiccup, in the process of recovering his normal mental state, rolled his eyes and wiped his nose, trying to stand up a little taller. "T-thanks Tuff."

I clutched him tight to my side as we hurried out of the dungeon, passing through the rooms we came in. It was difficult when we got to the really tiny passage. Hiccup, being tall, had to duck in a position that looked quite uncomfortable. We had to shuffle sideways so I could still hold him up and support him.

I hauled him up the stairs, helping him back into the fresh air. I could see him tilt his head back and suck in as much fresh oxygen as possible. I would have done the same if I was cooped up in such a muggy place for that long.

"Thank God you're back!" cried Fishlegs. "They're coming back!"

"What?" I slid through the bushes and grabbed the binoculars that he had brought right out of his hands. Bringing them to my eyes, I saw floods of soldiers making their way back down the hill, charging back to the castle with their weapons drawn. They looked ready to kill.

I shoved the binoculars back into Fish's hands and sprinted back through the bushes and pulled Hiccup. "C'mon, they're coming!" I shouted. Hiccups stumbled after me, eyes wide and afraid. We started to run back to where we came in, which was the closest exit to the woods there was.

It also, conveniently, was over a half-mile away.

"We can't outrun them!" Fishlegs shouted from behind me, his breath coming in short gasps. I couldn't listen to him. I had to believe that we'd make it. My brow furrowed in determination as I pumped my free arm as I ran.

"We have to!" I yelled back. "We can't stay here, they'll catch us!"

Running down the large hill to the castle, I let out a shrill whistle that was so loud it made my ears ring. Unfortunately, it drew a lot of attention our way. Guards atop horses started galloping our way with crossbows aimed at us.

"Run!" I screamed.

Arrows whistled past our ears with the occasional bullet ripping through the air near us. My legs were so tired, they almost gave out, but I pushed on. I had to get Hiccup back to safety.

A large black mass soared over the fence and started charging toward us. I almost laughed with relief when Toothless came sprinting toward Hiccup.

I didn't have time to react to it, though. One of the officers aimed their crossbow right at Hiccup.

"Get the prisoner!" they yelled. "The hybrid has escaped!"

I shoved Hiccup toward his Night Fury as I saw his finger move to the trigger. I saw Toothless haul his partner onto his saddle. Unfortunately, it was the last thing I saw that night.

Right after that, I started to turn my body back to face the guards. I couldn't observe anything, though, all I could focus on was the arrow that planted itself deep into my shoulder, knocking me back.

 **Uh oh…**

 **sorry bout that kids! XD (not really)**

 **I'm still updating every Wednesday!**

 **It's still utterly amazing to me how many people enjoy this story. Thank you so much for all of your support!**

 **This is easily the happiest I've been my entire life, and you guys contribute to that so much, with your reviews and comments on my writing that I receive every week. I'm insecure about my writing abilities, but you all push me to new heights every time I sit in front of a keyboard!**

 **Hearts hearts hearts,**

 **cheddarpenguin (:**


	22. Chapter 22

**Welcome back? *nervous smile***

 **ok ok I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING LAST WEEK**

 **I feel so terrible. Please understand I had 0 seconds of free time to finish up this chapter. It's the end of the quarter at school, so I had lots of tests and projects and a choir concert to prepare for, plus having track every day after school for two hours AND work for four hours after that gets pretty time-consuming. I'm doing my best!**

 **I hope this extra-long chapter makes up for it. I'm swamped weeps**

 **Another character introduced in this one (': One of my fave animated characters (and hottest, wink wink) not from HTTYD. Guess whooo?**

 **Review responses at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

I think I was unconscious. I wasn't positive, though.

The arrow planted itself straight in the chink of my armor, where bare tunic was exposed. The burning pain bloomed like a fiery fire and spread throughout my right side. I fell back, the sheer agony making my legs collapse from underneath me.

Everything muffled for a second, then went black.

But then, I was back.

Except, I wasn't looking through my eyes. I saw all the events happening outside of my body. It was probably the strangest thing I'd ever see, looking at my own unconscious self from above.

"Astrid!" I heard Hiccup's scream. It seemed as if all of his unfocused feelings washed away In the second I was hit, he went from being a disheveled, starved prisoner and was back to being that action-packed, brave prince that I knew.

He caught me as I fell backward before I could hit the ground. I could still feel everything, from the hands holding my shoulders to the grass gently kissing my bare ankles.

"No, no, no," he said, panic filling his voice and eyes as he gently shook me. I felt the shake and almost lost focus on looking at the scene playing out.

"We have to move!" Fishlegs shouted as he threw rocks at the incoming horses. He managed to throw some of the attackers off-course, but they were quickly approaching in numbers.

I felt so helpless, not being able to do anything. I wasn't even sure if this was all happening, or if I was dreaming. I tried to pinch myself, but I didn't have a body to pinch. I focused on Hiccup's touch, deciding it was all-too-real and detailed and utterly _Hiccup_ to be a dream.

Feeling hands grip the inside of my knees, I saw Hiccup scoop me up bridal style. Though in the few days he was gone, he had lost a considerable amount of weight, but his hybrid strength helped the muscles in his arms flex as he hauled my weight up. I felt the grass fall away from my feet, as I felt the most pressure behind my shoulders and on my knees as Hiccup carried me.

My shoulder had a dull ache going pounding through it, but I didn't feel the pain. It was a beating throb that echoed throughout my limb.

As I saw Hiccup sprint back to Toothless, I saw him holding me very, very carefully. Since he was holding around my upper back, he made careful not to move my left shoulder hardly at all, in fear of making the wound worse.

"Go, we'll call our dragons!" Fishlegs called as Hiccup looked back, waiting for them.

Hiccup nodded, with a determined look I hardly recognized. I could almost feel his emotions. He was confused and distraught, furious and afraid. The way he protectively clutched me to his chest made me sigh. My body could feel the warmth he had started to regain after his body started moving again.

The hybrid prince clicked a gear on Toothless's stirrup, launching them into the air. I thought he was just going to leap over the fence, but I was soon corrected when they continued to soar through the air, easily dodging the arrows whistling past them in high-pitched screams.

My conscious stayed directly above my body. I saw the three of us, me included, soar above the clouds and into the night sky. I felt the coldness on my skin, but I knew it was nothing compared to what Hiccup felt. While I was dressed in black clothes from neck to toe, plus the heavy armor over my body, Hiccup was still shirtless and in thin pants that cut off halfway down his calf.

While I was distracted paying attention to his lack of clothing, I barely missed him pick something out of the saddlebag on the side of Toothless. It was a small, wooden cup, about the size of those tiny glasses they had at the bar I had passed over while clambering through the vents. He reached his arm over Toothless's mouth. Though it was dangerous for Toothless to lose focus while flying at very high speeds, he still turned his head and licked the cup, saliva dripping into it.

I wanted to cringe, it was pretty disgusting. But my curiosity outweighed my disgust, so I continued to watch his actions. He took the fabric around the affected area and tore it, exposing the dark red blood staining my pale skin. I could see the discomfort on his face as he looked at the wound, but he proceeded anyway. He took the cup of Toothless saliva and poured it around my shoulder, making sure to get the whole area.

Even with his lack of clothing, he tore some of his pant leg off and wadded up, wrapping it around my wound that slowly started to stop bleeding. I wondered how the bleeding was slowing already. There must have been something in that dragon spit that made the damage less severe. The saliva helped, but I knew I was going to need something more than magical dragon drool to fix it.

Though I couldn't feel the pain, I felt the press of the cloth against my skin as he tore the tunic around the trauma. He worked quite smoothly for Toothless blasting quickly through the sky. His brow furrowed as he tended to the harm as best as he could. His fingers worked nimbly and delicately, tentative touches that pressed easily around the wound.

I had started to get a bit bored after ten minutes of them flying. Hiccup took as much care to the arrow as he could, and it was obvious that they were flying to get help, but I couldn't talk to them. All I could do was watch my unconscious form lay limp in Hiccup's skinny arms.

Noticing some odd sounds, I focused in on the rider and dragon pair. I tried to zoom in, or create some sort of way for me to hear better, because I only heard a few hiss-like sounds and clicks coming from Hiccup's barely open mouth. Soon after, Toothless made an array of similar sounds. I was only able to hear what my body's ears could catch, though, and that mostly included the wind.

Hiccup shook his head, clutching me tighter. He opened his mouth and said something, as if in response to his dragon. Hearing the whirrs and growls being emitted from his mouth, I realized he _was_ responding to him.

Toothless and Hiccup were _communicating_ with each other. They were speaking in the same language.

I listened to them talk for several minutes. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but I assumed it was about directions. Hiccup would occasionally point ahead in some direction, and Toothless would change his direction. There was an urgency in Hiccup's weird mouth sounds, and Toothless was flying _fast._

Hiccup said something softer that I couldn't catch, but it was most likely in his dragon language. He looked down at me, with concern deep in his eyes. He brushed my bangs out of my face with delicate fingers, a sad look on his face.

"I know it seems the world is totally against us being together right now," he said softly, but it was next to my unconscious self's ear so I was able to hear it. He held me closer, resting his forehead on mine. "But _I_ know that we're supposed to be together. I won't let any of this keep us apart. I won't ever stop fighting for you."

I melted at that comment. I had never felt this way about someone before. The way I felt his arms wrap around me, the way he pressed a kiss to my hair, the way he looked at me was so surreal. I don't think anyone had ever cared for me the way Hiccup did.

"C'mon Toothless!" he shouted in English, leaning forward slightly but making sure I was secure in his lap. They dove down, slicing through the clouds. I felt the cold wind pick up as we flew fast toward the ground.

After my vision being obscured as the duo ripped through the chilly clouds, the scene below opened up to a vast ocean shore. The beach was set with dark rocks and pebbles, with dead, yellow grass opening up in small fields next to it. A thin layer of snow sat on the ground, patches of bright white in the midst of a yellow and brown meadow. In the distance, gray, rocky mountains with snow-capped tops stood tall and proud, the tops brushing the low clouds.

I had never seen nature like this, and it was beautiful.

Something caught my eye. Not my _real_ eye, but the weird, abstract, unconscious state I was in. It was a teal color, standing out among all the other earthly shades. Trying to focus in on it, I saw spikes.

 _Large_ spikes.

It was a looming ice fortress, isolated in this wilderness up north. There were a few dragons flying around the enormous structure, flocking at the top. Hiccup seemed unfazed by the sight of this, as it was his destination. He and Toothless sped, their direction aimed straight for the bottom of this ice block.

Toothless must have flown _fast._ If we were, about a half hour ago, in fifty-degree weather, and then in twenty degrees, Hiccup made sure to have some urgency.

I was glad, too. My view on myself was slowly drifting further away from my body. It scared me, _me!_ So much for Fearless Astrid Hofferson. Was I going to die? Was this it? The blood wasn't leaking as quickly as it was, but there was still an arrow in my shoulder. There was also the constant risk of infection.

The moving stopped, thankfully. I didn't want to leave Hiccup to himself to lead the rebellion.

Hiccup and Toothless darted into the bottom of the ice. There were freezing, winding caverns that had spikes jutting out from the walls and floors. They must have been there before, in order for them to navigate the cold tunnels so well.

I saw Hiccup take a quick glance at my face, risking it as he took his eyes off of the obstacles in front of them. I admit, I was pale. A little too pale. He saw this too, which made _him_ go a little pale. He turned back to the snaking tunnels ahead and urged Toothless faster.

The dark, cramped caves opened up into a sun-filled environment, covered in green foliage with waterfalls spotting around the walls. If I could have gasped, I would have. There were thousands of dragons flying around a giant rock pillar that had to be hundreds of feet high. It really was a wonder, how could so much beautiful nature exist in this ice cave?

Hiccup pressed his fingers to his mouth and let out a long, high-pitched whistle. The dragons flying around the massive rock in the middle halted their progression and stayed suspended in the air, their eyes trained on Hiccup. I was so amazed and distracted by this, I almost missed what happened next.

The walls of the cavern started moving. No, they weren't walls. Figures that were camouflaged to the wall came forth and showed themselves. Humans peeled off of their spots on the walls and stepped forward to Hiccup's call. No, not humans, _hybrids._

Hundreds of them were making themselves seen, darting quickly over to where Hiccup's position was. If I could crinkle my brow, I would.

I suddenly understood. They detected me (or rather, my body), a non-hybrid, coming into their caves. I had learned not long ago from Tuffnut and Ruffnut that they could easily tell me and other humans apart, even when I was a mile or so away. They felt threatened and confused. Once they saw Hiccup, though, they knew they weren't in danger.

Hiccup waved his gangly arms around, goosebumps littering his bare skin. His ribs poked out of his chest, like large ripples on his sea of pale skin. He waved his arms, a worried look on his face. He called out to the hybrids living in the cave, calling for peace.

"I need help! Someone get a healer!" he yelled.

When hybrids saw who it was, they immediately started to scramble for a healer. It was a flurry of colors, the dyed tunics and furs rushing to find medical supplies.

While watching the scene unfold, I found my view on the situation begin to zoom outward. I was confused when I couldn't focus in on myself, with Hiccup right next to me. I tried to get a better look, but everything started to blur. The colors started to blend together as I was raised up further.

I was _dying._

I panicked a little when I realized this. Not that I was afraid of death, but I didn't want to leave Hiccup just as I had gotten him back. I couldn't leave the hybrids to themselves. I needed to get back to them, to take down the castle. To take down Eret and the corruption once and for all.

I heard the screams of Hiccup grow fuzzier and quieter. " _Help! Hurry! We're losing her!"_

An easy feeling of peace washed over me before everything faded away.

* * *

I jolted up from my position, knocking my head against someone else's, hard.

"Ow!" I hissed as the same time as the other person in the room. Rubbing my head, I opened my eyes, I saw Hiccup sitting on the edge of the bed I was laying in.

As the pain in my head subsided, the growing pain in my shoulder increased and started to hit me in waves. The arrow had been pulled out, and it was wrapped in thick bandages. I quickly laid down again, trying to rid of the agony. In my unconscious state, I was lucky to not be able to feel any of this. I almost wished I was back there, the pain was unbearable.

It was chilly in the room, adding to the discomfort of my state. There were wooden walls, constructed tightly together with a straw roof and a cloth doorway. Around the small hut, there were tables of bottles and cups, shelves bowls and books, and lines of fabrics and linens draped below the ceiling. It was dark, lit only by a candle by the side of the bed and a lantern hanging in the center of the room.

After rubbing my head from the bruising throb was watching my breath curl out of my mouth in short, white puffs, when I noticed a very confused pair of green eyes blink at me.

"Astrid?" Hiccup whispered, disbelief in his eyes. Gazing into his eyes, I saw they were pink and his cheeks were stained. He had obviously been crying. Wait… if he had been sitting on the edge of my bed, head over my body, crying…

He touched my cheek, cautiously, as if to test if I were real or not. When I leaned into his touch, he choked back a sob. "You… you were _dead_ ," he said. "Just an hour ago… you were _gone."_ His voice cracked painfully with raw emotion. I willed my heart not to break for him, I was here for him now. I don't think I had ever seen him in such a vulnerable state.

Given the situation, it _almost_ made sense that I had passed... Him crying over my body, while I'm fading away from existence. The wound was terrible. Maybe Toothless saliva helped, or the hybrids worked some magic on me. Being my stubborn self, I wouldn't let myself die in that manner. I had too many responsibilities to take care of. I don't _ever_ take the easy way out.

"You should know that it takes more than a mere arrow to kill me," I grinned. He let out a breath of disbelief with joy and hope in his expression, his eyes glistening once more but with a large smile on his face. Unable to quit smiling, I used my uninjured arm to wrap around his neck and pull his lips to mine.

I felt him sigh with a smile against my mouth as he leaned into our kiss. He shifted his body so he was in a more comfortable position, leaning over me with his hand cupping my cheek. I savored in the slow, sweet kiss, enjoying how it was our first one without having people actively chasing and hunting us down.

I broke the moment for a brief second, placing my thumb on his warm bottom lip. "Where are we?" I murmured quietly.

Hiccup was in no rush to tell me. He pushed back my thumb and kissed me again, his lips not daring to miss a spot on mine. As our mouths glided together, electric sparked through my body. It was popping through my veins and surging through my limbs, a building tingling that rose at the pit of my stomach. I wanted to stay with him, in that moment, forever.

"Somewhere safe," Hiccup mumbled in-between kisses.

My hand ran up through his soft locks of hair. "Not specific enough."

His mouth trailed down to my jaw, planting sweet little butterfly kisses along my neck. "I thought I lost you. Forever." I could barely decipher what his murmuring words were.

"Hiccup, please answer me," I breathed as my cheek felt the comfort of his hair. Though it being unwashed for several days, covered in dirt and grime, it was still unrealistically and unbelievably soft.

His arm snaked around my back, pulling me closer to him. "The base."

I pulled away from him and scooted back to the headboard of the bed. Hiccup pouted, his hand still clasped in mine.

"Be more specific," I demanded, sticking my nose high up in the air. "Where did you take me?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It's the main base for hybrids," he answered. He captured my lips for another quick kiss from me, catching me off-guard. "It's where most of the fugitives hide out. It's kinda like the main headquarters for hybrids in all of Berk."

My brow furrowed, and I sat up straighter, ignoring the dull ache in my shoulder. "What's the camp back in the castle forest for, then?"

Hiccup shrugged, crossing his legs as he pulled himself onto the middle of the bed. "It's the camp for hybrids around the capital. It's pretty small, actually, compared to some other camps I've seen."

"I thought that you said you didn't get out of the castle that often," I said, recalling a conversation that seemed like an eternity ago.

"Yeah, well I don't. Didn't," the brunette corrected. "I'd get some secret letters, courtesy of Terrible Terrors, updating me on the status of different hidden hybrid organizations across the kingdom. Sometimes I'd take Toothless out and visit them occasionally. It was rare, though, and I had to do it so my parents wouldn't find out."

I pressed my lips together, forming a thin line. "If the camp back in Angeles was small, then how big is this one?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to answer when the curtain in the doorway slung open and a pale, skinny teenager with stark white hair entered, holding a long, wooden staff.

Cerulean eyes widened as he saw me. Gray brows shot up into the bangs of his hair. Feeling threatened by his shocked gaze, my brows narrowed. I had to mentally slap myself to remind myself that I was supposed to be _dead,_ and he had a _reason_ to be surprised.

"She's alive?" the intruder's voice asked, wary and confused.

Hiccup leaped off of my bed, the tips of his ears reddening slightly for being seen sitting so close to me. His stumbling, stuttering, and pure awkwardness made me want to laugh.

"Yes," he said. "It's a miracle."

"I have unfinished business to tend to," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, and I instantly regretted it. Searing pain shot through the wound in my shoulder, causing me to emit a low hiss. I had no doubt that the arrow tore through some pretty serious muscles, the damage was probably the most pain I've ever felt.

Hiccup stepped over and eased me back onto my pillow. I was grateful for him, but it was a little annoying. Yes, I was injured. But I wasn't helpless. I had been on my own for years, responsible for my own safety along with three others. I didn't need someone to take care of my every need.

"Well, we're glad you're still here with us," the white-haired figure said, twirling his staff around in his hands. "Now, we don't have to plan a funeral." The last joke he cracked made a small smile twitch at the corners of my mouth.

"After you rest, we can show you around," Hiccup offered, pulling a nearby wooden stool and plopping down on it right next to my bed.

"I've had enough rest," I grumbled, squirming on my bed. It wasn't a very comfortable mattress. I could feel straw poking through the thin, coarse sheet covering it. But I suppose I _had_ been pampered while in the castle, so it wouldn't take me long to readjust to poorer conditions.

Hiccup pursed his lips but didn't say anything. He wanted to object. He wanted me to stay safe. Which was _exactly_ why I had to prove to him that I was still strong and capable, even with an arm rendered nearly useless. I didn't need these hybrids thinking I was just a weak human with no purpose here but to heal.

The pale hybrid, with skin as white as snow, shuffled around the hut before pulling something off of one of the shelves. It was a grey cloth with a thick band dangling from it, twisted around sideways to reach both ends of the fabric.

"Here," the stranger said. He put the strap over my head and gently pulled my arm into the sling that the cloth had formed. His fingers were cold and rough, aged with odd, smooth wrinkles that spread down his white palms. The hybrid secured my arm in the sling, cautious as he stepped back.

The temporary solution to the problem was comfortable enough. My arm rested limp in the support, not needing any of my strength to lift it. It held my shoulder in place, so when I turned it wouldn't hurt too much.

"Thank you…" I trailed off, having never caught his name.

"Jack," he answered my unasked question. "I'm kind of the unofficial leader around here." He stepped away, letting Hiccup help me to my feet.

Hiccup's hands, always with their comfortable callouses and familiar scratches, felt large and warm in mine. He helped me stand to my feet. It's not my shoulder that was the problem, I was just a bit groggy after having almost _died._

Well, yes, I did _die._ But whoever was watching from above wasn't finished with me yet.

Hiccup's arm snaked around my waist, holding me steady as we walked out. Jack held the cloth door open for us with his gnarled wooden staff, allowing more bright sunlight to shine to my eyes.

Stepping out of the medicine hut, I had to shield my face from the glaring sun. Or at least, the light that filtered through the ice structure. Either way, it was very bright.

While I was distracted with the light, a gush of air hit the three of us. It was unexpected, especially since there was a cliff drop-off just a couple of meters outside of the hut. I was almost knocked back, but Hiccup's arm made sure that I stayed where I was. I heard the loud beating of wings settle to a quiet flutter before stopping altogether.

A blue dragon with a large head and beak-like nose landed right in front of us. Yellow eyes darted around and eased their gaze on me. The dragon took a step closer, causing nervous jitters to course through my body. It was easier knowing Hiccup was right next to me, but having a dragon stare you down isn't one of the most comfortable experiences.

I was a bit paralyzed, unsure of what to do. I felt like prey in the hunting grounds of this predator. I felt like a mouse, quivering under the harsh gaze of an owl. The dragon obviously had no intent to devour me, it sniffed the air and tilted its head, getting a better look at my entire image.

The blue dragon squawked like a parrot, hitting me with a wave of rancid breath as its mouth opened. I involuntarily coughed, wrinkling my nose at the foul stench I heard Hiccup stifle a chuckle next to me, and I had to fight the urge to punch him.

"She likes you," he breathed into my ear, barely audible. "Reach your hand out and touch her nose."

I bit my lip. It's not that I was _afraid_ of dragons, it was just nerve-racking. Here was an animal, so much larger and more powerful than I, standing just a mere few feet in front of me. I could be dead, _really dead,_ in a matter of seconds.

I shook those thoughts out of my head. I wouldn't let myself think about that now. I collected every drop and every ounce of courage I had left in my body to slowly lift my good arm.

Large nostrils flared and hot breath coated my fingers. _Fire,_ I thought. This made me hesitate for a brief moment, reevaluating whether I should place my hand right above this dragon's fire-filled mouth. Feeling Hiccup's hand on my shoulder, though, persuaded me to reach forward and place my hand on the warm, rough blue scales of this dragon's snout.

The dragon's eyes closed and I felt her lean into my touch. I let out a breath of relief I didn't know I was holding. A small smile crept onto my face as she nuzzled into my torso.

Hiccup let out a small impressed laugh, filled with mostly disbelief. "You just bonded with a dragon."

"Wait, I did… ah- what?"

I heard footsteps from my other side, but I didn't bother to turn my head to look. I saw Jack out of my peripheral view, hoisting his staff behind his shoulders. "Impressive. Who knew a human might be of some help to us?" Jack asked jokingly, with a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"Hold on," Hiccup said, green eyes twinkling. "Jack, think about it. If her shoulder is preventing her from combat, she can aid us on aerial assault! That way, she can train with her dragon, show everyone she's on our side, and make sure her shoulder isn't damaged any further!"

Jack's smile opened up to reveal his shining, pearly white teeth. Hiccup's grin reflected his, except his were a bit more crooked. Lucky for me, they weren't as yellow as they were when I found him in the cell. I was glad that he had found a way to brush his teeth before I had spent a solid few minutes kissing him.

"Or, we can have her stay behind and organize the attacks. Her plan to get me out of my cell in the castle was mostly successful," Hiccup put his idea out there.

"Or polish the dragon armor," Jack snickered.

"Wait," I butted in their conversation, snapping out of my own thoughts. What they were talking about finally registered in my mind. "No matter if my shoulder heals or not, I'm fighting in this battle. I'm _not_ staying behind and just sitting here because I can't use my shoulder." The two men raised their eyebrows at me, so I took a breath and continued. "My shoulder might heal in time. We have an entire week!" I planted my hand on my hip, nose stuck up in the air. "I'm fighting, whether you like it or not."

"Astrid," Hiccup said, fingers brushing against my arm.

I took a small step back. I wasn't going to cooperate with him if he didn't think I was able to fight. I had an another arm! I was _not_ useless! I could _help_ them!

"We're just thinking of different places for you to be in," the auburn-haired hybrid said. "You have to get better…"

I didn't mean to, but I snarled at him. "I _have_ to help you win! That's why I _joined_ you in this rebellion!"

Hiccup's eyebrows narrowed. "That's exactly why you can't be on field combat!" I was about to retort, but he cut me off. "If I'm the one that dragged you into this, then it's _my_ fault that you got the arrow in your shoulder, it's _my_ fault you can't ever be seen in the kingdom again, it's _my_ fault that you have to go through this pain and suffering. I _won't_ have you getting seriously hurt because of me!"

He sighed, a look of defeat on his face. "I just want you to be safe. I was thinking of having you be one of the leaders of the aerial team. I can train you, so you can still battle, but out of most harm's way. I _need_ you to be safe, Astrid. At this point, you're all I have left."

Hiccup's voice broke while speaking the last sentence. His eyes were glossy and it almost made my heart break. He blamed himself for what happened to me. He was probably eating away at the inside with guilt. He was a broken person, living in a broken world. He was little pieces of glass, scattered through the wind, trying to find his purpose. He made me realize that I was his glue. I was to put him back together.

"Hiccup," I said softly. I reached up and touched his cheek. Ignoring Jack's coughing and footsteps leaving, I tried to comfort him. "Don't you _dare_ blame yourself for this. This is what _I_ want, okay? I want to fight for _you."_

He nodded, finding comfort with my hand on his face. He placed his hand on top of mine, nimble fingers enclosing mine in his warm grasp.

I continued, voice just ghosting above a whisper. "I know you want to keep me safe," I said. "But you _know_ I'm someone that can look after herself." He nodded. "I'll go through with your aerial training. I'll ride the dragon, fight on the dragon." I took a breath, feeling every ounce of air fill my lungs. "But if I want to fight, dirty, there's no stopping me."

Hiccup didn't have time to respond. Jack, from where he was standing on the edge of the cliff, spoke and pointed to the giant rock in the middle of the cavern.

"Look," he said, gesturing with his staff. "The dragons are flying down."

It was true. All the dragons, who were flying blissfully around the rock column, were now circling down away from the top of the ice cave. They seemed to shrink away from the very top of it, where there were a few holes in it, just big enough for a dragon to fit through. They were definitely scared of something.

"What's going on?" I asked, my question mainly directed toward Hiccup.

"I don't know," he said. His brows were knit together, he was thinking. Retracting that statement, he was _listening._ There was always that dilated pupil and distant look he got when he was listening for something with his hybrid senses.

Jack seemed to do the same. When I looked around the cavern, all of the dragon-human hybrids seemed to be doing the exact same thing. They crept out of their homes in the cave's ice walls, watching as the center of the structure quickly emptied until it was bare, stripped freshly clean of any signs of dragons. They pointed their gazes up, and let their hearing take over.

"We're in trouble," was all Hiccup said.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT! :**

 **I WILL BE TRANSITIONING TO UPDATING ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS. IT IS EASIER FOR MY NEW SCHEDULE.**

 **I'll be posting every other Wednesday:**

 **I'm soo sorry about this, but I will be writing longer chapters with better quality. It gets a little stressful trying to meet a weekly deadline. I hope you'll understand!**

 **On the upside, instead of** 3000 word **chapters, I'll produce upwards of** 7000 word **chapters, so you get more when you read.**

 **I hope this doesn't upset you too much :/ I'm trying to produce the best content I can.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **jackie016:** _ **Muchas gracias!**_ **thank you for your review!**

 **BrawlerGamer: Ikr? Hiccup spent a few days, 3-4, in the cell. Hardly any food or water with the occasional beating on the side? Sounds fun. *cringe*. Stoick doesn't seem to think anything through much here, does he? XD I don't like time skips either, but this also is kinda strictly Astrid POV. Tbh, Hiccup's side of the story would be boring. Staying in a castle all day, staying in a cell all day, etc, etc. I hope this chapter is a nice-ish balance of not timeskip but keeping Astrid here.**

 **Aadya845: I'm soo sorry :3 Sorry for not updating last week, I hope I didn't add too much suffering. I'm trying to post every other Wednesday, so Wednesdays are still a thing. Thanks so much!**

 **A Potato: Aaah i'm sorrryyyyyyy! Gotta love them cliffhangers. Thank you sm x**

 **Me: Guards and royals know he's a prince, but that's pretty much the extent of it. They are a very secretive people! Hiccup wasn't as secretive around Astrid cause he got hit with the whole "love at first sight" thing if ya know what I'm sayinnn (;**

 **theskrillrider: thank you so much, your support means so much to me!**

 **gigidragons85: Thank you so much! I love harrypanther too. Such good work! I felt that arrow, too, right in my heart. Also, heart eyes hiccstrid kiss. These kids and their pained love, amirite?**

 **OechsnerC: Prince Hiccup, doing his best to save the day! haha. He's trying his best to save Astrid. Bad luck seems to follow him though xD**

 **Ruth: Thank youuuu! I'm trying to write the best I can as fast as I can!**

 **DreamMelody: Thanks! If** _ **I**_ **were one of the guards chasing after them, I wouldn't want to come near her with a wild hybrid Hiccup at her side!**

 **razor95: Hiccup's leg is still there, yep. Will it, though, be for the rest of the story? You never know… mwahaha**

 **Tussey: I'm soooorrrrryyyyyyy haha. I usually don't like to read or write first person POV, but it seemed the most fitting for this story.**

 **icy-rain499** **: Thank you! That was a fun one to write. Damsel Hiccup is one of my favorite Hiccups, tbh.**

 **Nina: She was so close, but yet so far. *wipes tear***

* * *

 **Have a question? PM me for instant answers, leave a review for an answer in the next chapter!**

 **Fave, follow, drop a review. They encourage me to write more!**

 ***hearts***


	23. Chapter 23

The first thing I heard were the cracks.

At first, they were only mere pops, a quiet crackle in the midst of the distant wails of the dragons down below. I didn't think much of it. I figured it was the breeze, causing branches to interact with each other. But it was when Hiccup's eyes darted upwards, his pupils reducing to thin lines, when I looked above our heads to see what was going on. Also, there wasn't any wind inside of this closed ice structure.

The majority of the ceiling of the cave was covered in ice. Stalactites drooped from the top as if they were grasping for the ground. It was hard to see the thin lines snaking around the roof of the structure at first, but the growing volume of the cracks made it hard to ignore.

As I was looking to the top of the cave, I felt a small tremor go through the ground. It shook us a little. I felt Hiccup's arms make their way to mine as he pulled me closer in a protective position.

Bits of ice fell and littered the ground around us. One landed onto Hiccup's hair. He plucked it off of his mop of auburn locks and stared at it. His eyes then slowly returned his gaze to the roof of the turquoise cavern.

"Get back in the hut," he said assertively. He looked as worried as ever, and started to frantically look around.

"What?" I exclaimed, slightly baffled that he'd even suggest something so absurd. "No way. I'm _not_ leaving you." That happened once before, and that got me into a pickle that took an arrow to the shoulder to get out of. I wasn't planning on leaving him behind again.

" _Astrid,"_ Hiccup repeated, obviously concerned and annoyed at the same time. He was too late, though. The creaking sounds above turned loud. _Too_ loud.

A huge spike of ice started to crumble and dip slowly toward the ground. The shadow of the looming figure hundreds of feet above our heads caused me to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was massive, and coming straight at us.

It tipped some more, falling just after a roaring _snap_ was heard. Hiccup grabbed my waist and dove out of the way and into some trees, using his body as a shield. It didn't help too much, though, for when the huge ice block crashed into the ground, ice was sent flying everywhere. The ground shook so violently, we fell over onto our sides. Freezing particles and shards were zooming right into us, making us use our hands and arms to cover our faces.

After the hunk of ice had settled, and everything stopped shaking around us, we pulled our hands away from our faces to see the damage that had been caused.

There wasn't too much visible destruction, just a small crater in which the ice rested in. The foliage around us was coated in a light layer of white that came from the fall. All the hybrids were sheltered, nowhere to be found after the piece had descended.

I unraveled myself from Hiccup's grasp and carefully stood on my feet. There was smoke billowing up out of the cavern from where the ice had been hit by something. It was the steaming lump of dark matter amidst the teal coldness that looked absolutely wrong and caused a gnawing feeling grow in my stomach.

"What is that?" I asked Hiccup as he stood up next to me.

When I looked at him, the concern rooted deep in his eyes worried me.

"That's…" he trailed off and took a step forward. "We're being attacked!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud _bang_ resonated through the air. Everything stood still for a moment afterword, everything still and quiet, until a large black ball came hurtling through the gap that the fallen ice had left.

The cannonball sank down into the pit where the dragons had retreated. I heard Hiccup suck in a gasp next to me, and we scrambled to the edge of the cliff to look down and see if there had been anything or any _one_ hurt.

A shrill scream echoed through the bottom of the depression, followed shortly by a faint noise of a collision. Most likely into the ground. I turned to Hiccup, eyes wide. His expression reflected mine, with shock, hurt, and confusion. A dragon had just been hit and killed.

It only took a few seconds of silent disturbance for the flapping of wings to start. It started off with only a few pairs, growing closer each minute that passed by. It then grew into a chorus of beating wings that rose further out of the hiding spots. It was almost deafening, the sheer amount of sound that was being produced. There were so many dragons starting to fly, we almost had to cover our ears.

Hiccup and I backed away from the edge of the cliff just in time. A Monstrous Nightmare barreled out of the pit and soared through the air, flying rapidly and aggressively. It was _mad._

The blue Nightmare was trailed by a Hobblegrunt and a Changewing. A few Nadders chased after them, all while stalked by a pack of Gronckles. More and more dragons I hadn't yet learned about made their way back to the surface, into the light. Their eyes had furious fires within them, burning bright like torches.

It took me a second to understand. They were mad at the cannon for killing their companion, and they were out to get revenge.

I grabbed Hiccup's arm subconsciously. "We don't know what's out there. What if the dragons are hurt, or killed?"

He held my hand and tugged me away from the edge. "C'mon, let's go."

Hiccup and I ran back to the entrance of the hut. Toothless was wiggling his behind in anticipation. His eyes were anxious; he was desperate to get into the air to help his kind.

"Astrid, you take your Nadder. Jack and I will scout ahead and make sure it's safe," Hiccup ordered, using his authoritative tone that wasn't used much with him. He swung his legs over Toothless and adjusted himself on the saddle.

I stopped in my tracks. "I'm supposed to _ride_ her? _Already?"_ Did Hiccup really expect me to hop on the back of a dragon and fly off into battle, just after I had met and bonded with her? So much for being concerned about my safety.

"It's okay," he reassured, trying to support me as best he could. "I believe in you. Just let her guide you, you'll be alright. If something goes wrong, I'll be right there to help you."

He dipped down to kiss me, almost falling off his saddle. I held his arm with my free shoulder, pressing back into him, mouth burning. Maybe a desperate kiss would convince him to let _me_ ride with him on the back of Toothless. But the way Hiccup's lips were stationed on mine, we both knew that wasn't the case. It was too dangerous on that small dragon for two to be in the battle, fighting.

Jack reappeared from behind the hut, jogging with his staff in hand. He pressed his fingers to his mouth and blew hard, letting an earsplitting whistle ring throughout the base. "Let's go, lovebirds, we have some assholes to destroy."

I saw on of the dragons that was spiraling up into the sky halt in its tracks and retreat back down to the ground, where Jack was standing. The brown of the dragon's saddle was a dark contrast to the stark white of its scales. It had a huge head and small blue eyes, with gigantic teeth and a protruding nose. Though the dragon was covered in spikes, head-to-toe, Jack climbed on with ease and secured himself up on his snow-colored dragon.

"Wait a few seconds after Haddock and I take off," Jack said. "Then follow our trail." His gaze was usually humorous from what I could tell in the half hour I knew him, but there wasn't any that I could see at that point.

There were so many questions I had, so many protests to voice. I wanted to give the boys a piece of my mind before they stormed off into God-knows-what, confronting God-knows-who. But we were pressed for time. Their dragons launched into the air right after they saw other hybrids emerging into the sky on their companions. I had to hold myself back from screaming at Hiccup about how he had left me to figure out this reptile on my own.

I jogged over to the edge of the thin stretch of trees and called for the blue dragon I had "bonded" with earlier. I didn't know what exactly to say or do with a dragon, or how to call for her, so I tried whistling like Jack did earlier. After a minute, I heard some rustling through the trees and a happy blue dragon emerged.

She nuzzled against my side as a greeting, causing me to flinch. I had met her not even an hour ago, so I was still nervous around her. Ignoring the voices of doubt in my head, I lifted my good hand and patted her side. With a soft _coo,_ she closed her eyes and gave a pleased flick of her tail.

"Please, don't freak out," I murmured as I rubbed the smooth scales on her face. "I need to help my- my- uh…" I hadn't really thought about what Hiccup was to me at this point. The title as my _boyfriend_ didn't suit him that well. _Lover_ seemed a bit too much at the point in our relationship. He definitely deserved more credit than a _friend._ Having been through so many changes in such a short amount of time, I wasn't entirely sure what stage we were at.

"I need to help… my partner," I said, deciding what to call him and liking the way it sounded on my tongue. He _was_ my partner. He was my best friend and my love. He was my battle partner, my partner in crime, my partner in life. I couldn't be happier to have him.

The Nadder gave a soft squawk and ruffled her wings. I hoped that was a sign of encouragement from her, because I had to get on the dragon no matter what.

I stroked her scales, trying to get her to feel comfortable around me. I knew I didn't have much time, Hiccup and Jack were halfway up to the opening of the top, and I had a feeling the enemy wasn't going to shoot only one cannon.

I bent down, and using all of my leg strength, slowly swung my leg around the top of her body. I shuffled onto her back, careful because of where her scales were sharp. I felt that she was tense, obviously never having had a human on her back before. I whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down.

"Alright, girl," I exhaled as I was perched atop her back. "I'm going to need you to follow them." I pointed upwards, the Nadder's yellow eyes following my hand. I felt her squat down some, the rippling muscles in her legs stiffen. I expected her to gently rear back and take off nonchalantly; that was _not_ the case.

Her wings stretched out and rose to the point where the tips of them were almost touching. Her head stayed level as her entire body dipped forward, then releasing in a flurry of power and speed.

It's highly probable that I screamed.

The cold wind clapped my face. It stung, but I couldn't cover my bitten cheeks because I was too busy with my death grip, securing myself onto the dragon. My eyes were barely able to open. The speed was so intense, that every time I caught a glimpse of visible light, the wind would cause tears to erupt and I'd have to close them.

I almost slipped off. My hands hurt as I wrapped my arms around her neck, trying to hold on but simultaneously trying not to choke her. My shoulder burned so badly from the position it was in, while the sling choked my neck because it wasn't correctly stationed.

Proceeding to act without thinking, I looked down. The ground was speeding away from me at record time, almost resulting in me going light-headed. There were dragons following behind us, their angry eyes and snarling teeth causing me to grip the Nadder even tighter. It was hard to stay calm when there were thousands of furious dragons right behind you.

I clutched tight and closed my eyes, burying my face into the dragon's neck. I wasn't interested in keeping them open just so that they could tear up again.

I don't know how long I was clinging on for dear life on that dragon, but the wind calmed before I realized it and we started tilting downward instead of up. I scrambled to sit upright as I readjusted on the Nadder's back, hopefully able to have a better grip this time around. I wasn't fond of the idea of almost slipping to my death a few thousand feet below.

Since the wind wasn't whipping violently into my eyes, I cracked them open to see the scene playing out before me. I spotted the black and white dragons of Jack and Hiccup, diving through and dodging different ice spikes poking out as obstacles before them. They glided with ease and grace, obvious that they had been riding these dragons for years.

I used them as an inspiration and tried to take deep breaths, dreaming that one day I could fly like them. Be that skilled and talented in that field. That is, if we were to ever get out of the shithole that I had gotten us into.

I was snapped out of my daydreaming when a black ball sped past me, only a mere foot or so from my face. I could feel the force of the cannonball as it shot away from me, my hair blowing away as it rushed by at an impeccable pace.

"Watch out!" Hiccup yelled as it whirred past. Looking down at him, I finally saw what our threat was.

There were ships on the sea. Colossal steel and wood ships with intimidating carvings engraved into the silver and brown sides. Though the ships had an impressive magnitude, they looked poorly constructed. They looked as if they were originally steel boats that were built years ago, and mended only with planks of wood that had been laying around. They appeared old and creaky, I didn't even want to imagine the leaking that occurred on board.

In total, the fleet had seven ships, from what I collected at first glance. Four small ships, two with a moderate size, and one gargantuan master mothership located in the center. The largest ship was firing the big cannonballs at us, while I saw the smaller ships firing lesser-sized weapons at the bottom of the ice fortress. They were bringing it crumbling down, bit by bit.

As I quickly observed the scene, more hybrid riders tore past me, weapons raised, poised for attack on top of their partners. They swerved, glided, and maneuvered their way around the lines of fire. Their faces displayed pure determination as they readied to defend their home base. It was truly inspiring.

My dragon started to fly further down in the direction of the ships. I tried not to panic; I let the dragon do what she knew how to do best. I let her guide the way, for I was only a passenger on her.

Arrows and cannon balls whistled past, making me flinch every time they did so. The Nadder dipped down and dove, just skimming the ocean with her wings. I felt the salty spray of the mist on my cheeks, adding an additional freezing element to my state at that moment. The dragon navigated around the ships, only a little bit below the decks so we weren't visible to the crews aboard. I felt her light blue scales heat under my palms which were still wrapped tightly around her neck. I almost had to take my arms away completely in fear of being burned.

The hot sensation that was rising beneath my fingertips finally released when the Nadder sprayed scorching fire at the bottom of the smaller boats. The sweltering flames latched onto the wood and licked upward, spreading further each second. The blaze grasped the ship and quickly overtook it, but it was too late for the crew to notice. The Nadder's fire worked fast, and the men on board realized this and threw themselves overboard to avoid being charred to a crisp.

I let out a laugh of delight as I realized my dragon and I had taken out the entire boat. I patted her neck and urged her forward, the adrenaline swimming through my veins and the mixture of the cold air and hot fire causing me to want to do it again. I could barely feel the pain in my shoulder anymore, that was how into the battle I was.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a black cluster soaring above, shooting purple blasts out of its mouth. _Hiccup,_ I thought, smiling to myself, as my partner blasted a handful of men off of the large ship. My dragon and I circled back around and set another small ship on fire. I was about to look up to Hiccup when a chain wrapped around my torso and yanked me off the dragon's back.

* * *

The last thing I had remembered was my head smacking onto the deck of a ship. I wasn't sure which one it was, but I guessed it wasn't one of the smaller ones. Everything had gone black after that.

Next thing I knew, I was in a damp, moldy cell in the bottom of the ship. There were tiny windows with thick metal bars covering them. They were just above the sea level, but sometimes the boat would rock a little too hard and slosh salty water right atop my head.

I tried to stand, but soon realized that both my hands and feet were chained in cold metal. There wasn't any key to be found, from when I scanned the room, so I slumped back and weighed my options. I sat up a little more and craned my neck to see out the window, looking at the sun. Judging by the position it was in the sky, I concluded only a couple of hours passed. I didn't hear any signs of a battle waging on, so someone must have lost. I prayed that it wasn't the hybrids, I prayed that something bad didn't happen to them or their base.

The dull ache that pounded through my shoulder had returned. This time, I had no sling, and my arm was restricted behind my back in a painful position. I had some other pains to think about, though, too, not just that one. My feet were bare and it was cold. My head had a throb going through it.

I didn't see the ice fortress when I looked out the window. I didn't recognize anything out there. It was mostly an open sea, but with a thin strip of shore in the distance, barely visible to my eyes.

I slumped back, unable to think of what to do. If Hiccup even _noticed_ I was missing, how would he find me? _He_ might have been captured, too. Even if he wasn't, he wouldn't know which ship I was on. _I_ didn't know what ship I was on. He might not have the strength to come back if the hybrids truly had been defeated, anyway. It seemed I would somehow have to get out of the situation myself.

I had no problem fixing my own problems, but this was an exceptionally sticky situation in which I had _no idea_ what to do. I couldn't fight or anything. I was in real trouble.

My problems rose more when I heard a wood door slam open above my head, letting some more light into the cellar. Heavy footsteps clunked down and grunting ensued as someone made their way down the stairs to get to my location.

A huge man, wearing metal armor and a helmet, made his way down. He had a big, dark bushy beard laced with grey. His rotten teeth were crooked, with several of them missing. Beady eyes scanned the room with annoyance and anger.

I wouldn't let this man scare me, though. I kept a stone-cold face, daring him to challenge me.

"Ah, there she be." the man's disgusting mouth curled into a gut-wrenching grin. His gigantic arms spread out as he gestured to the boat around him. "Welcome aboard _The Outcast_. I'm yer captain, ye may call me by 'Sir Treacherous'," he chuckled a choking sound, amused at his own words.

"How about I call you a _disgusting pig-fucker?"_ I offered, my mouth curling into a snarl.

"A feisty one, I can see why the Haddock boy is so infatuated with ye," Treacherous smirked. It took my all not to scream out and lash at him.

But when he spoke that sentence, something inside of my brain clicked. Sure, I was under restraint, and I wasn't able to fight, but I still had a sharp wit. If I couldn't _fight_ through this situation, I could _talk_ my way out of it.

Brains over brawn.

"Hiccup? With _me?"_ I let out a laugh. "Please. You have such a big head for someone with such a small brain."

I succeeded in throwing him off. His face displayed pure confusion. "What are ye talkin' bout?"

"You really think I'm that freak's _lover?"_ I laughed again, even though I felt bad for calling him a freak. I had to make this as believable as possible, though. "You are clearly mistaken."

The Treacherous leaned against one of the cells. "Explain."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'm his _prisoner,_ dumbass. I was spying for the royals on their rebel base, and they caught me. If you really think I'm attracted to _that,_ you have no idea what you're talking about."

"That doesn't make sense," growled the captain. "Yer were on one of them dragons. Yer were fightin' and firin' against _my_ ships. Yer were fightin' for them!"

"God, don't you know _anything?"_ I drawled out, taking on an exasperated tone. I was having too much fun with this. "I was _trying_ to escape. I stole one of their dragons, hoping to fly the opposite way. It had no saddle, so I couldn't control it. The dragon wanted to fight, though, so it took me to the battle and started to fire on its own."

"How do I know yer not lyin'?" the massive man questioned, eyes narrowed.

"Why would I do that?" I challenged. "Do you really think a hybrid and a non-hybrid would _be_ together, let alone _work_ together? I'm one of the Selected, for crying out loud! I want to live in the palace! Not some scummy hut in an ice cave!"

"Fair point," he said, using his grimy hand to scratch his bug-infested facial hair. "Fine then. Yer obviously not workin' fer the enemy, so there ain't no point in keepin' yer as a prisoner no more."

I didn't let my expression show it, but I felt like a giant weight have been taken off my shoulders. I had to restrain myself from letting out a breath of relief.

"But since we have ye here," Treacherous continued, a devilish smile on his face. "We can get a bit bored. Might as well make ye the ship's whore."

The situation turned from bad to worse very quickly.

I tried not to choke on my own saliva. I was hoping he'd just throw me overboard, since he had no use for me anymore. I was hoping I could swim back to land, despite the cold water. I was _not_ expecting to be raped by a bunch of burly, unwashed pirates on shitty boats in the middle of a freezing ocean.

" _Excuse_ me?" I demanded as his sick eyes traveled around my body. "I am THE Selected. Prince Eret's favorite contestant! The entire Berkian army is scouring the entire country for me at this second. When they find out that you have, first of all, _kidnapped_ me, second of all, _imprisoned_ me, and third of all, _abused_ me, your fate will be _worse_ than death!"

Treacherous grabbed the rusted bars of my cell and poked his head through. I wished he wouldn't, I could smell his rancid breath from where I was sitting. His sneer opened up, giving me a full view of his browned teeth.

"It's an occupational hazard," he said with his sly smile. Oh, how I wanted to punch his fat face and knock him into the sea.

I let my furious emotions take over me. I slowly stood up, careful not to yank my chains and cause me to fall. I had to be as smooth as possible. I stuck my nose up at him, showing him I was better than him. He didn't deserve me.

"Fine then. Your funeral," I said.

I almost gasped in surprise when Treacherous unlocked the door to my cell and stepped inside, a wicked look in his evil eyes. I didn't flinch or cringe, though I wanted to. I wanted to gag at his wretched stench. I had to force myself to keep my head forward.

When he came closer, I saw he was at _least_ a foot taller than I was, and I was fairly tall for a woman of my age. He towered over me, his teeth still jutting out of his mouth in that vomit-inducing grin of his. All I needed for him was to crouch down a little bit more…

And he did. It took my all not to burst out laughing.

He was the _worst_ modern-day pirate I had _ever_ seen. Though I was in chains and unable to use my limbs, only someone completely stupid and oblivious would come right near the prisoner with the door unlocked and open behind them. It was a perfect situation for me.

The pirate began to talk. I didn't hear anything he was saying, even though his face was inches from mine. I leaned slightly back, gaining energy, and surged forward.

His helmet didn't cover his forehead, luckily for me. I hit him with my own head so hard, I felt dizzy and collapsed back down onto the ground. I was worried for a second that I didn't hit him hard enough, and that I was the only one who had been affected. But when he stumbled back, dazed, and tripped, I knew that luck was on my side.

Adding to his brain trauma, he fell and smacked his head against the bar and fell sideways, again, hitting his head on the floor of the cell. I wanted to cackle with delight, but I didn't have much time. I scooted over, scanning the area for the keys that possibly had dropped out of his hands. I spotted them in his hand, and scooted over.

What I did next was something I hope to God I never have to do again.

I sucked in a breath and held it, not wanting to smell his odor. I then bent down and nudged his fingers open and used my mouth to bite and hold the key ring. I shuddered when my mouth brushed against his open palm and made a mental note to myself to scrub my mouth with lots of soap later.

I turned my head and dropped the keys into my hand. Using my skilled, mechanic fingers, I twisted the keys around and unlocked one of my hands. It only took me seconds to unlock all four after one arm was free.

As soon as my last ankle was free, I heard another set of steps coming down the stairs. I panicked, frantically looking for a place to hide. I couldn't just stand by with freed chains and the captain unconscious at my feet. I dove out of my cell and rolled over behind the stairs, opening a small door and closing it quietly behind me just as the man entered the bottom of the ship.

"Alvin?" a gravelly voice sounded. "Alvin!"

I heard the steps move toward his body in my cell. The silence that followed was agonizing. I could hear my heartbeat roaring through my ears, the quickened pounding driving me crazy. I had to control my breathing, I felt as if it were as loud as the cannons firing just a few hours earlier.

My cheek and ear were pressed up against the door, listening for any change in sound or movement that I could detect. I heard light shuffling that was hardly audible. I then heard some angry muttering and pacing around.

"Where are you, _wench?"_ the voice growled.

 _That_ made me flinch.

My breath came out in shaky pants as I backed away from the door. I needed to get out- he was going to find me. This dusty broom closet was not an ideal hiding spot. I spotted a window, one that _wasn't_ covered in thick bars. It had a thin plank of wood down the middle, poorly barricading it from the spray of the sea. No longer caring about noise, I wrenched the wood free.

As soon as I heard the door open, I dove out of the window.

 **Review Responses!**

 **Coronadel: Thank you so much! I'm glad I make your Wednesday a little bit brighter (:**

 **BrawlerGamer: I agree, but I knew it would return to 1st person by the end of the chapter. I originally wrote the first draft of this chapter in 3 POV but it had an odd flow to it that I didn't like, so I scrapped it and went for this instead. I love Hiccup talking to Astrid sm x. Astrid is still human, just had a mishap in her entire body. lmao. I love Jack Frost too! (:**

 **UnbreakableWarrior: Thanks so so much (:**

 **BTMFTW1: How sweet, thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoy it. It means so much to me!**

 **Tussey: Yeah, Astrid had a lot on her plate. Leave it to a tough girl like her to push through it though!**

 **icy_rain499: Thanks! And you have no need to worry, I would** _ **never**_ **drop this story, especially at this point in the plot! I'm here for the long haul (:**

 **Duckcrusader: Thanks for understanding (: And the feels man, phew. I'm drowning in them!**

 **Nadess: *flaps arms* here's ya chapter! I wanted to add my boi Jack in here somewhere, even if he plays a minor role xD**

 **gigidragons85: These kids just can't catch a break! writing about their pained love hit me right in the feels, I'm telling ya. I love love love Jack, too. And those Hiccstrid kissies, I was practically screaming while typing it. THE FEELS. I'll try to sprinkle in more Hiccstrid. I love writing them. I'm sorry you don't get as much in this chapter!**

* * *

 **Thank you all for being so supportive and accepting of the new update schedule. It really makes it easier for me! Thanks!**

 **Leave your thoughts on the chapter! Love you! x**


	24. Chapter 24

**I can't even believe how late I am, I'm so sorry for making you wait omg**

 **I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR BEING PATIENT. It means the world to me for you to not bug me for a chapter, I had a really busy and stressful month.**

 **It's short but I needed to get something to y'all. I make it up to you, I promise.**

The cold water came as a shock that jolted my entire body.

It felt like a million tiny knives, stabbing every bit of exposed skin it could latch onto. There was so much pain that came with it, my hands and feet were practically on fire.

The dark waves tried to engulf me, but I kicked and paddled to stay above the water. I was not an exceptional swimmer, but my willpower and might helped me survive.

I had only had little practice in the small lakes near our shack. One time, in the fourth grade, some boys in my class (when I still went to school) got together and threw me into the pond that was near the schoolyard. After I had given them each their deserved beating, my father took half a day and taught me the basics, like paddling like a dog and staying afloat.

Though, nothing could have prepared me for the ferocity of the raging ocean.

I had to keep moving, no matter how exhausted my limbs were from being unused in the awkward position for a prolonged time. The water was too cold to sit still, I had to keep thrashing or I'd freeze up.

My hands and feet, the most painful while in the water, numbed pretty quickly. Instead of actual parts of my body, they started to feel like dull weights attached to my arms and legs.

And when I thought my arrow wound couldn't be any more painful, I was proven wrong as soon as I hurled myself out the window. With the salty seawater sloshing into the wound that kept reopening mixed with the movement of my arm being used to stay afloat, I couldn't help but let out a scream of pain as I saw faint stars dance in my vision. Luckily, the painfully freezing water was somewhat of a distraction from this.

Why focus all of your attention on _one_ pain, when you can _split_ your attention on _two different_ pains? Genius!

I coughed and spluttered, the unfamiliar salty seawater stinging my tongue, and stared up at the boat in front of me. It seemed a lot bigger from this perspective, rather than when I was aboard. I couldn't see quite clearly, I didn't have time to rub the water out of my eyes before opening them. But I was pretty sure those were angry faces looking down at me.

"Lady overboard! Prisoner overboard!" I heard voices scream out as more men piled up on the side of the ship to yell and scream at me. I made my best attempt to paddle away from the ship, but its current in the water was stronger than I was and kept pulling me along.

The pirates on the ship started to throw things at me, in which I did my best to duck and avoid. Please understand that it was hard for me to duck and dodge in the rough sea with blurry vision.

I saw a bigger object being thrown in my direction, and I closed my eyes, bracing for impact. I wasn't hit, though, rather the water around me.

"Great shot!" a man cheered, and more whoops and hollers followed after that.

The object started to pull tighter around me, squeezing me. I looked down and saw one of the life savers that are on the side of ships. The pirates were using a rope hooked around the circle to trap me inside.

"So much for that escape," I muttered as I was pulled closer to the boat. I tried to use my arms to wiggle free or push it off, but it was no use. I was stuck.

All I could do was whistle.

I pressed my fingers to my lips and blew as hard as I could. It was the loudest, shriekiest whistle I had ever produced. I could only pray that my dragon, and maybe even Hiccup, would be able to hear me, from wherever they were.

Adding to this noise, I screamed.

" _HELP!"_ I screamed. "MURDER _!_ RAPE _! FIRE!"_ I hated pleading for help, but I admit, I was out of options for this situation.

I shouted anything that could possibly draw the attention of nearby fisherman, if there even were any out here. We were so far north, so out in the middle of nowhere, I didn't know where we were or what kind of people lived here. I doubted anyone would hear me.

I started to lift from the water. It was a relief to have my limbs out of the unbearable cold, but the rotten-toothed grins that greeted me on my way up eased no part of me.

"Thought yeh could get away, did'ya?" one man with a patchy beard snarled, grabbing the flotation device and yanking me on board.

I collapsed onto the wood deck of the ship, coughing out any water that I had accidentally choked down. I felt the life preserver loosen around my waist. It was then pulled off of me by a pair of big, meaty hands.

"I will never stop fighting," I spluttered out, pushing myself onto my feet and facing the man.

Even standing at my tallest height, I was nowhere close to being as tall as them. Each and every man had to be at least a full head taller than me. I felt like a small mouse, surrounded by a bunch of cats. I wouldn't let them see that, though, of course.

"Yeh burnt down one of our ships, knocked out our cap'n, and dove out the window into a freezing ocean," the one man with no beard spat. "We can tell yer obveeusly not very smart, girl."

I felt a coarse rope tying my hands together behind my back. No fighting this time. I'd have to use words.

"I'm just thinking on my feet," I shot back. "And I think _we_ can all tell you're not familiar with the term _thinking_ at all."

I didn't really want to run my mouth with a bunch of three-hundred pound men standing around me with weapons, but I was angry. I can't really help what happened when I was angry.

No-Beard reared back and hit the side of my face, hard. I tasted the metallic tang of blood. I didn't allow them to see I was in pain, though, so I faced forward again after being hit and stared him in the eye. My eyes returned to being narrowed.

When No-Beard didn't change his expression either, I spat the blood from my mouth onto his face. He stumbled back, the disgusting mouth-blood mixed with saliva splattering onto his face.

You know, sometimes I really hated that I had anger management issues. Sure, it felt great and empowering to spit my mouth-blood onto his face in that moment, but I knew that I had fucked up when his massive hand enclosed around my throat and lifted me off my feet.

I wanted to claw at his hands that were choking me, but they were behind my back. I was completely cut off of air and there wasn't anything I could do.

Lucky for me, though, there was something someone else could do.

The flapping of wings was distant at first. I could barely hear it. But when I tuned out the shouting of the ugly pirate in front of me, the job was easier.

Blood, mixed with drool, dripped from my agape mouth as his meaty hand tightened around my neck. My lungs cried for air and my throat screamed at the fingers crushing it.

"Savage, look!" one pirate said to No-Beard. "It's Haddock and another dragon."

I couldn't help but attempt a small grin as I heard Hiccup's name. My blood-stained teeth mixed with the fluids flooding out of my mouth and onto my chin and his hand must've been disgusting to everyone witnessing it, I hoped it was.

"Savage, let her go!" another man added, the worry obvious in his eyes. "He's dangerous, he'll give it to yeh if he sees yeh handlin' his lady like that."

Savage's grip loosened, but was still far from letting go.

"Let her go, Savage," the wonderful nasal voice sounded from a few meters away. "Or I'll have Toothless blow you to bits."

My lungs felt like they were collapsing. They didn't have enough air, it was like they were dying. Knowing Hiccup, I knew he would try to talk before fighting. My body didn't have time for negotiation, though, so I did the only thing I thought of.

Though my body was being drained of its strength quickly, I was able to swing my leg back and drive it in between his legs.

He let go of me, and I collapsed onto the deck of the ship, coughing and gasping for air. To my surprise, the rest of the crew didn't rush forward to restrain me once more. They stood their distance, fear painted on their face as they saw Toothless's eyes.

Hiccup leaped off Toothless and helped me onto the dragon as quickly as he could, before Savage stood up again.

"Where's Alvin?" he asked as he climbed aboard the saddle after me.

"Yer girl here knocked 'em out cold down in the cellar," Savage grunted, standing straight. "What do _ye_ want, anyway?"

"Allies," Hiccup responded. Savage looked about as surprised as I did. He elaborated as he saw the confusion. "Neither of us like the royals that are in the castle right now. The hybrids want to take them down, once and for all. We need your help."

"Oh, yeah?" Savage snarled. "And what's in it for us?"

Hiccup scoffed. "Are you kidding? What _isn't_ in it for you? The oppressive royals would be gone, and you'd have all the wealth you desire. We just need you to fight next to us, with us, against them."

Savage stroked his chin, eyes cast downwards as he thought deeply. Deeply for him, anyway. There was no way that man could be cognitively superior to even a rock.

"I'll think on it," he said finally. "I'll bring it te Alvin when 'e wakes. We'll make our course down south to yer base, but we'll be slow. Don't expect immediate answers, we'll need some time te think." He took a step toward Hiccup. "And if we _do_ go through with this, we'll be expectin' a lot of fuckin' loot, here me boy? We ain't workin for cheap."

"Understood," Hiccup said firmly, "but keep this in mind, old friend. If you even _think_ about touching Astrid one more time, you won't get so much as a dime. I'll concentrate all of the hybrids toward _you_ specifically. Got it?"

Savage only grunted in answer.

"I want your answer within the week," Hiccup requested, back straightening out. I was glad that he knew how to talk things out. He was a natural born leader with a knack for negotiation, which were the best ingredients to cook up a perfect king.

I was also flattered at how Hiccup even _thought_ about me while negotiating serious deals. He really cared for my safety. I guess it was understandable, he must've been scared out of his mind when he saw me. Bruised around my neck with blood pouring out of my mouth like a waterfall.

Toothless bent down and took off from the ship. As we left the solid surface, I spat the tooth that came loose from the punch onto the ship, right in the middle of the group of men.

"Adios," I rasped out to the pirates as we flew into the sky. "Thanks for the good time."

Hiccup just shook his head with a chuckle as he urged Toothless above the clouds to where they wouldn't be able to shoot at us with arrows, or if they had any, guns.

Guns were rare at this day in age, but they still existed. They used to be very prominent in Berk a number of years ago, but they became very expensive as the materials started to run out. Pretty much only top-notch guards carried them, hired by incredibly wealthy people or the royals themselves.

"I'm sorry," I said, voice scratchy and a tad painful to use. "I shouldn't have rushed into the situation like that. I didn't mean to cause all this trouble." I really did feel horrible, I just hope I didn't hold back the hybrid advances on the castle.

Hiccup took one of his hands off of the saddle and enclosed it around mine. "Don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. Those guys are nasty and do terrible things." He reached down to his saddlebag and retrieved a cloth, giving it to me. I thanked him and pressed it into the back of my mouth, where the absent tooth was supposed to be.

"I must admit, though," my partner said as we dove further into the clouds. "I don't think I have ever seen someone so badass in my life."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face into his shoulder. We'd talk later. All I wanted to do then was sleep.

 **DFGHJKJHGFDFGHJ**

The soft jolt of Toothless landing woke me from a dreamless slumber. The ache in my mouth had dulled, but the pain in my shoulder continued to throb. I blinked open my eyes, noticing the navy sky past the twisting, dark branches of the forestry around me.

We were back in the camp by the castle. Hiccup helped me off of the saddle, careful of my shoulder. He called someone's name, something I didn't quite catch. My mind was still fuzzy with sleep.

Two women were at my side within seconds. They assisted my walking, which made me feel embarrassed. There were lots of people watching me be hauled away to be helped. I could only hope they didn't see me as weak as the women hurried me into one of the bigger huts in the village.

Inside the hut was dark and cramped. A seemingly-endless supply of bottles filled with liquids were packed tightly onto the shelves that wrapped around the walls. Nestled in between the tables and There were two cots constructed from straw and wool that sat on the dirt ground. The women coaxed me into the cot closest to the wall.

There was a smaller body occupying the other bed. They were cocooned in blankets, burrowed in warmth to the point where I couldn't see any face on them. I wanted to ask them who was next to me, but my caretakers decided to tear off half of my shirt.

"Oh, dear," the lady with dark hair said, gently using the pads of her fingers to run over the skin on my right shoulder.

"What?" I looked down to where her fingertips were touching. There, in the wound I thought was healing, it looked much more green.

"It's infected," the redheaded nurse observed with worried eyes.

I couldn't help but sigh and roll my eyes. "Of course." Of course it was infected. Of course my luck had to go downhill. Bad luck was attracted to me like moths to a flame. Bad luck was Astrid Hofferson's right hand man, my best pal. It never seemed to leave my side.

I winced when one of the nurses pressed a cold, damp cloth to my skin. It made me realize how hot my shoulder felt without it. It was an angry, hot pain that was hardly soothed by the cool contact.

They tended the arrow wound with care. They pulled out their books and flipped through pages, muttering quietly amongst themselves and pointing to different bottled remedies that were placed around the hut. The women chopped plants and mixed them, along with different liquids, into a small bowl. They took another cloth and dabbed it into the solution.

When they stippled it onto the infected area, I accidentally screamed.

" _Shit,_ what's in that thing?" I hollered as the brunette quickly retracted her arm from my body. It felt like a fire had been ignited in my veins around the wound. It stung worse than any bee or wasp and was more of a shock to me than a spark of electricity.

Seconds after my outburst, another figure ran into the hut. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?" Hiccup asked, eyebrows knit together in concern.

"Her wound is infected, Lord Haddock," the redhead reported, adding something else to the mixture. "Don't worry, sir, we're treating it."

"It hurts like a bitch," I muttered under my breath, forgetting that all of these hybrids had exceptional hearing.

Hiccup rushed to my side immediately, eyes scouring the affected area, tracing it over with his nimble fingers. "Did you add Night Fury saliva?" he asked the nurses.

"Of course," the brunette responded. "It can only do so much, though."

"Will she be okay?" he asked, one hand trailing to tuck stray hairs behind my ear.

"Unless she has an allergy to any of these ingredients, she will be."

When I saw the uncertainty flicker within Hiccup's green eyes, I used my good hand to grasp his. I gave him a smile, attempting to reassure him. I understood that he was worried, but he seriously couldn't believe that I would let a small infection kill me.

He leaned over and pressed a light kiss to my forehead, right as someone else mumbled my name.

"A-Astrid?"

I recognized that voice. I knew that voice anywhere. The last place I wanted to hear that voice was _here._

Hiccup's eyes widened as he looked past me. I heard covers shift and blankets being pushed away. I slowly turned my head, afraid of what I'd see. My fears were confirmed when I was met with a blue eye color I knew all too well.

"Gustav!" I shrieked and sat up immediately, ignoring the protests of my shoulder. I blocked out the voices of Hiccup and the nurses as I clambered out of my cot, desperate to reach my brother.

He had a nasty black eye that had swollen completely shut. There was a tear in his lip and a crooked angle to his nose. He was obviously beaten very badly.

"Oh, nonono, what happened? What are you doing here?" I questioned him, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. Why was he in the hybrid camp, beaten up, scarred, and in the medical hut?

It was my fault. I knew it, deep in my heart. Because of my decisions, my mistakes, Gustav was badly injured.

And who knows what happened to my parents! They could have been dead right now, for all I knew. They were in the castle, ripe for the picking to be slaughtered. All because of me. I didn't know if I could even live with the burden of killing my family.

"You disappeared… they came after us," Gustav grunted.

A tear slipped from my eye.

"We escaped."

I don't think I had ever been happier to hear two words come out of my brother's mouth, ever.

On cue, another pair of people entered the hut. It was starting to become very crowded, but I hardly noticed. I flung myself out of the beds to hug my parents.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as they held me close. "I am so, so, so sorry."

They were mostly untouched, besides some faint red marks on their faces. I was beyond furious at the castle, and the government, and the royals for laying a finger on my family. I was ready to do anything to get my revenge on them. I was willing to do whatever it required.

"Lady Hofferson, please lay back. We must tend to your injuries," the brunette nurse. I didn't want to let my family go, but they made sure I made it back to my cot.

"We're proud of you," my father said, taking my hand. My mother nodded, glassy-eyed, in agreement. "You stood up for what was right. Don't worry about us."

I was going to thank them, but the nurses pressed the mixture to my shoulder again. Instead of "thank you", or "I love you", I hissed out, " _Fuck!"_

Their eyes blinked wide but they didn't comment.

"Haddock!"

Yet _another_ voice called out and crammed themselves into the hut. The nurses scowled as they tended me, looking distastefully as Snotlout made himself present.

"Oh _hey,_ Hoffy _,"_ Snotlout greeted with wiggling eyebrows as he shuffled past my parents. I shot him a glare, warning him to say another word. "You're back. I knew you couldn't resist me."

It's not _just_ that he was the most obnoxious person I'd ever met, he was hitting on me in front of my parents _and_ Hiccup. Wait… did he know about Hiccup and I? I thought displays of affection were pretty obvious around the hybrids. Either he didn't care or was _very_ unobservant.

Hiccup took a step toward me as Snotlout said this, his hand gently resting on my good arm. His eyes narrowed at the comment. I almost snickered at how overprotective he just became.

"What is it, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked, giving a small roll of his eyes.

Snotlout raised one eyebrow as he saw Hiccup's hand on my shoulder, but shrugged, holding something out to Hiccup. The prince took it, eyeing it carefully. It was an off-white color that was flimsy and long. I noticed it was a newspaper issue when he opened it further.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist, crinkling the paper.

"What is it?" my mother asked.

I craned my neck to see what made Hiccup so angry. I peered onto the front page to get a glimpse of what he had read.

There was a large, bold headline in which I couldn't decipher. But I could definitely make out who's picture was on the front cover.

It was me.

It was my photo, taken from when I first arrived at the castle. I was wrapped in my cream dress, the first taste of royal pampering I had. I half-expected my eyes to be brighter and happier, but they weren't My lips curved into a smile in the picture, but _I_ wasn't smiling. When I casually passed a mirror, I saw a brighter light in my eyes.

Hiccup had done wonders to my life.

"What's it say?" I demanded, shaking out of my thoughts. I reached for it, but Hiccup, still reading it, pushed it just out of my grasp. " _Hiccup."_

"What? Oh- my bad." He held it out to me, cautiously. His lips were pressed together in a thin line. He was disappointed, or worried, about _something._

I snatched the paper out of his hand and quickly read the headline.

 _ **HOFFERSON HAVOC**_ **: ASTRID HOFFERSON, SELECTION CONTESTANT, COMMITTED TREASON FOR BREAKING PRISONER OUT OF DUNGEON AND FLEEING CASTLE.**

 _ **Suspect is not in custody. His Royal Highness is offering a great reward for the capture of this criminal, a number estimated to be over $500,000.**_

"We're all in it, too," Hiccup sighed, after I handed him back the paper. I didn't want to look at it anymore. "The story's on the second page, they have a list of us with smaller rewards. There's your family, me, Anna and Kristoff, and others, too."

I wanted him to stop talking. I didn't want him to detail how much damage I had caused. I didn't need to know how many lives I had ruined because of my stupid actions.

"We have to get out of here," I said, trying to stand up, but the nurses wouldn't permit it and I hissed when they pressed another dampened cloth to my shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, squatting down next to my bed so I could look him in the eye.

"We're only a few miles out from the castle," I explained through gritted teeth, "and they're _going_ to find us. It might have been fine when you all were on your own, but with the government searching for different people that had been in the castle, they're _going_ to search the woods and they're _going_ to find us. We have to leave this camp."

"What?

"You heard me!"

"I know, I know, that's just… I dunno…"

If I could've, my hands would've been on my hips. "Hiccup."

Hiccup bit his lip, thinking. "Astrid, that's a _lot_ of work to move a hundred people and all of their belongings away from a threat, which we don't even know is coming."

" _Bullshit_ ," I snapped loudly, and everyone in the hut flinched. I was starting to get angry. They didn't understand that I started this problem, so _I_ had to figure out how to get out of it. "I'd rather saddle up some dragons and leave most of the belongings behind, rather than having to scour around, looking for places to dig graves for all the dead bodies. We have to _go_."

Hiccup winced at this, my words hitting him right in the heart. He was still uneasy, not feeling my words all the way through. He was standing at that point, pacing back and forth with what little room he had.

"What are you so hesitant about?" I questioned him. I didn't want to be rude with him, but I was impatient, exhausted and in pain. I wanted answers. "Don't you want your people to be safe?"

"Of _course_ I do!" Hiccup's nostrils flared and his eyes burned. I understand it was a very serious accusation, but I needed to say it. I was very much in-the-moment. "Do you really think I'd be doing all of this for people I didn't care about?"

"Why do you want them to be sitting ducks in this camp, waiting for them to be killed?"

"Astrid, this is our _home._ I still live in the castle. These people, it's their home, too. They might not want to leave." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "We have defenses. Alvin's smuggling pirates will help us, we can defend our home!"

"Hiccup, that's incredibly selfish!" I raised my voice. It wasn't like him at all to be selfish, so when he was, "We can leave, there's nothing for you here, anyway! You have your mother, your friends, and _me,_ whatever that means to you. These people might be hesitant to leave, but do they even know what's coming after them? We're _all_ in danger here! If we stay, we'll die!"

He opened his mouth to talk, but it seemed as if he were taking time to process what I had said. His eyebrows then scrunched together. " _Whatever that means to you?"_ he echoed my tone, looking puzzled. "Astrid, you mean _everything_ to me! You are my _world!_ I don't think I could live my life without you! All I want to do is keep you safe!"

It was sweet. A little-off topic, but sweet nonetheless. It caught me off-guard, how he selected only to respond to that part of my short monologue.

"I want to live my life with you," I murmured, taking his hand, "but not here. Not in this place." I knew he wanted to keep me safe, and that ticked me off a little, only because he thought I needed protecting. I let it slide, only because of my injury.

His eyes softened. He crouched back down by my bed, with a sigh. "These people are stubborn and will want to fight, but we'll try our very best to get them out of here."

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. I was annoyed with him for arguing something so stupid, but I still lov- liked? Loved? I didn't know what I felt. I didn't have time to know then what my feelings were.

I heard a throat clear, and I remembered there were, like, six other people in the room. My mother was blushing and my father's eyes were trained on the ground. Snotlout looked a bit defeated. I almost laughed.

"Alright, miss, you're all fixed up for now. But you still need rest," the redhead informed me. "You should stay in bed for at least another day."

I begrudgingly agreed.

I was going to sit up further to talk to my parents more, but a shrill whistle cut me off and made all of us still. The eyes Snotlout and Hiccup bulged wide and they whipped to face the entrance of the hut. Everyone inside the camp had gone still, eyes trained toward the sky.

Snotlout and Hiccup scrambled out of the building to see what was going on, and despite the warnings from the nurses and the protests of my shoulder, I followed right behind them. The loud whistling stopped, but there were still sounds of objects cutting through the air.

I looked to the sky to see a storm of arrows soaring through the sky, coming toward us.

 **I promise I'm going to** _ **try**_ **to get this next chapter on time. Super sorry again.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Watching-the-Nox-Dreamer: Thank you so much! What a unique way of putting it, that's very sweet.**

 **Dante- Author of The Comedy: Yep! If you recall, around chapter 1 I said I'm not going to be following the plot of** _ **The Selection**_ **as the story goes on. Thank you!**

 **theskrillrider: Astrid can't escape the trouble, she's a trouble magnet! Truth be told, I don't think she's going to get a break anytime soon.**

 **Poksie: THANKS! You're too kind**

 **Midnight510: Wow, thanks! I really like adding other characters to spice up the story, keep it fresh, yannow?**

 **BrawlerGamer: Alvin knows a thing or two about our boy (; And yes, Jack's dragon is a Snow Wraith!**

 **gigidragons85: All I'm going to say is that Hiccup** _ **will**_ **lose his leg. At some point or another. Hehe. I know Rapunzel is kind of an "extra" so to say, she's one of the Selected contestants, mentioned around chapter 10-15 or somewhere!**

 **Jesyke: Aww thanks!**

 **jackie016: Thank you (:**

 **Anonymous Noob the 2nd: I'm glad you feel that way! Sometimes it gets difficult to keep her in character.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Short-ish chapter, but hey, done on a Wednesday!**

 **Because this has been requested and I love the idea: Here's a recap of Chapter 24:**

Astrid, with the help of Hiccup, escaped the pirates grasp, though not unscathed. They made it back to the hybrid near the castle, where Astrid's wounds. She learned her family was there, along with a price on her head. In the midst of the conversation, they learned the camp was under attack.

" _I looked to the sky to see a storm of arrows soaring through the sky, coming toward us."_

* * *

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror.

"Take cover!" he screamed out in a commanding voice that was quite new to me. "We're being attacked!"

Cries of terror erupted from the camp. People dove into their huts as the first arrows started to shower down and plant themselves into the ground. The hybrids snatched their children and leaped for shelter as more started to rain.

"Stay inside!" I called to my family. "The camp is under attack!"

The smart and logical thing to do was to join them underneath the safety of the medical hut's roof until the storm of death was finished falling. But of course, my battle instincts kicked in and I wanted to anything _but_ hide. Though, there wasn't much for me to exactly _fight_ at that moment.

My eyes darted around the camp, ignoring the shouts from Hiccup and Snotlout for me to shelter myself. I needed to help them defend the camp, not hide away!

"Mama!" a child's cry stood out to me in the midst of the terror.

I whipped toward the sound and saw a small girl in a brown dress in the middle of the clearing, staring in horror at the sky. Looking around, no one was approaching her, so I did.

I shot out of the cover of the hut into the center of the village and scooped the girl up into my arms. I ignored Hiccup's panicked shout and ran as fast as my legs were capable to duck under the safety of someone's hut. I in, releasing the girl from my arms, and almost running into several other people as I found the hut to be extremely crowded.

"My honey!" a woman cried out, stifling relieved sobs as she scooped the little girl into her arms. She stroked her hair and buried her face in the little one's neck, tears falling down her cheeks. "Oh, darling, you're okay. You're safe."

A few screams escaped the people's mouths as arrows pierced the roof. Their sharp tips stuck out a few inches through the ceiling, so instinctively, we all ducked.

It sounded like rainfall. A deadly, bloody rainfall. Shrieks came from around the camp, all the huts were occupied.

" _Stay under cover!_ " I heard Hiccup command. " _It'll pass over, then we must leave!"_

I tried to peer through the weapon storm to catch sight of my partner, but someone touched my arm and I flinched. I soon saw the kind, dark eyes of the little girl's mother as she held my hand.

"Thank you for saving my dear Lily," the woman said, eyes puffy and pink. She flinched as another arrow planted itself in the roof. "What can I ever do to repay you?"

"Don't worry about it," I said, waving off her offer. "It's no big deal." I would have done it for anyone. I couldn't let anyone die because of me.

The woman's brow knit together. "Oh, but it is! If it weren't for you, Lily would have died! _You_ could have died, too! To save my daughter!" She smiled sadly. "It should have been me, though, that's why I'm indebted to you. I won't have as much courage as you, probably not even to save my own child." She looked downward. "All my life I've been called a coward."

I placed my hand on the woman's shoulder. Though we were kneeling to stay away from the ceiling, I was still a lot taller than her, so it was easy to do. "I got us into this mess. It's the least I could do." I lifted her chin up. "Just because some rude person calls you a coward, doesn't make you a coward. You are what you make of yourself."

She smiled again as she clutched her child, tears dripping down her cheeks.

The arrows slowed and I saw Hiccup peering into the sky from across the clearing. He looked down and made eye contact with me, and waved me over to him. I crept out of the hut, leaving the hybrid mother and daughter pair, and gazed at the sky.

A few more arrows guided themselves into the earth, and then it stopped. It was eerily quiet, everyone waiting for something to happen next. I crawled out and stood up, stretching my legs, but still staying under cover in case a stray arrow had fallen behind the rest. When I deemed it to be clear, I darted toward Hiccup.

After I had down so, the rest of the people realized it was over. There were sobs when they saw the handful of bodies strewn around the camp ground. My heart went out to the bearded man with golden eyes that crouched over a female's body, a baby at his hip, blubbering and whispering in disbelief as he tried to revive his wife that had an arrow poking out of her torso.

 _I did this,_ was all I could think as I saw the carnage displayed before me. My knees went weak, the guilt overpowering my body. I felt as if couldn't walk anymore, and I staggered forward. A pair of arms caught me when I started to tip toward the ground. Hiccup pulled me close to him, resting his chin atop my head as I buried my face into his shoulder.

"Cover your ears," Hiccup murmured. I pressed an ear to his chest and covered the other with my hand. I felt his chest expand as he inhaled deeply. " _Collect only the necessities that you can carry, evacuate!"_

His shout echoed through the sky and seemed to rattle everyone to the core. Luckily, they listened to him. People emerged with only a few handheld things, their most precious belongings. They seemed upset to leave their home behind, but they were understanding.

The there were distant noises in the trees and throughout the sky. A light rumble that grew ever so slightly with every passing minute. People shook with fear, holding their loved ones close.

Hiccup brought his fingers to his lips and blew, whistling loudly. Toothless had arrived within seconds of the call, but that wasn't his entire goal. Hybrids around us did the same, whistling their calls to resonate throughout the sky.

Silence ensued. Even the hum of rumbling had halted. A solid minute had ticked away before I heard the flaps of wings. I couldn't help but let the corners of my mouth twitch up into a smile.

The dragons were coming.

* * *

People boarded their beasts with haste, not wasting any time as they slung themselves and their children on the back of their companions. There was a trail of hybrids leaving the ground, soaring through the air. Hiccup, Snotlout, Fish, the twins and I stayed behind to make sure everyone was evacuated.

Whoever had attacked us with the arrows was making their way toward us with speed. We saw the trees rustling just a mile or so away, Hiccup had seen on the back of Toothless. The sounds of trees crashing to the ground was made prominent and the sounds of footsteps were softer, but still undoubtedly noticeable.

My blue dragon, still unnamed, landed by my side as we were helping an elderly couple on the back of a Zippleback. I patted her snout as the two took off, slowly climbing toward the clouds.

"Hi, girl," I greeted, stroking her flank. "You need a name, don't ya?"

She squawked happily, yellow eyes following me. I continued talking as Hiccup raided the medicine hut to construct some first aid kits. "You are a fearless warrior, no doubt about that. You fly through anything to help battles."

I examined the color of her scales and the way she held her posture. "Stormfly."

The Nadder stomped her feet and flapped her wings, cawing excitedly.

"You like that?" I laughed, patting her neck. "Stormfly it is!" She nuzzled me affectionately.

After I named my dragon, I jogged over to the medical hut, seeing Hiccup was still toying around with different bottles and jars. The cots were empty, the nurses and my family escaping on two Rumblehorns. I sincerely hoped they were safe.

"Need help?" I asked, as I collected the small leather pouches that he had placed the medicine inside of. He didn't look up as he tied another knot to close one last bag.

"We'll leave in a minute or two, just put these in your saddle bag," he requested. I took the pouches out to Stormfly, suddenly realizing he said _saddle bag._ I then realized that Stormfly, was in fact, equipped with a saddle. Hiccup had gifted me with a saddle and didn't even tell me!

I shook my head as I opened the flap on the side of the saddle and carefully placed the leather bags in it, as to not damage any of the glass left inside. Hiccup exited the hut, carrying just a few more items with him in which he closed inside of Toothless' saddle.

Fishlegs and Snotlout came hurrying out of the huts of the east side of the village as the attackers grew closer and closer. "Everyone's out, we're good to go!" the Major General said, hopping his way over to Hookfang.

I scanned the clearing, seeing around nine bodies scattered around the camp. I waved my hand to gesture toward the dead. "What about them?" I asked. "Are we just going to leave them here, to be disposed of by the royals?"

Hiccup looked at them. "Astrid, as much as I want to help bury them with respect, we have no time."

A tree branch cracked. One that was right outside of the camp.

"He's right," Fishlegs added softly. "We'll pay our respects to their sacrifice when we're safe."

I bit my lip, wanted to protest. I hated the idea of leaving them, but I knew they were right. _There's a time and place, Astrid, to be stubborn,_ I was forced to remind myself.

"Let's go," I muttered, swinging my legs and boarding Stormfly. The saddle was comfortable and seemed to fit well enough. I took the belt that held me on her saddle and hooked it across my waist so I wouldn't fall off during flying. Having a saddle to assist riding this dragon was very helpful.

In that moment, something whizzed past my ear, so I fast I barely had time to flinch out of the way. A loud _thunk_ sounded, and I looked back to see a throwing knife planted in the wood wall of a building. I looked back, wide-eyed, to see where it came from. A few scouts were peering through the bushes, wearing the armor of the royal guards. They had bows and knives aimed right for our heads.

"C'mon!" Hiccup called, and our dragons, as if they only listened to him, reared back and shot off into the sky, right as several more men crashed through the bushes and trees to get to our camp.

Whistles of arrows, knives, and other small weapons, like slingshotted rocks, whirled past us in a frenzy. Stormfly navigated the air with precision, making sure to stay out of the way of the deadly weapons. I held on tight as she climbed higher and higher, matching with the speed of the other four dragons around us.

I took a split second to look around me, at Hiccup and the rest of them, and they were concentrated solely on getting above the clouds, it seemed to look like. Their faces were painted with determination as they leaned forward and urged their dragons upward, skillfully angling themselves as to not get hit.

I was soon graced with the cover of the clouds. They didn't feel anything like they looked, they were cold and wet, not fluffy and soft. Goosebumps rippled on my skin from the chilly matter as Stormfly barreled upwards with incredible strength.

I couldn't detect the whirring of the arrows and knives once we were above the clouds. It was truly beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. The clouds were below us, acting as a soft blanket covering the world below us. The sun shone bright and clear, the sky a brilliant blue color surrounding each side of us. I had never seen something so peaceful.

It was relieving, being away from the shots of the enemies. There were dragons littering the sky ahead of us, hybrids on their backs. Every seemed much calmer when they were in the sky. They looked like they knew where they were headed. I then realized that I had no idea which direction we were flying.

"Where are we going?" I called to Hiccup, who was gliding leisurely on Toothless's back. With a few flaps of large, dark wings, he was at my side.

"I think," he started, looking at his surroundings, "to the ice cave. It seems to be the direction everyone's heading toward."

"Back to the pirates," I grumbled under my breath, looking down at my saddle. I didn't say anything out loud to Hiccup, though. He was trying his best, and I was forever grateful for that.

I felt something brush my hand, and I looked over at him reaching out to hold my hand, almost to the point where he was falling off his dragon. I let out a light laugh at his awkward position and grabbed his hand. We glided through the sky, hand in hand, headed into the great beyond.

* * *

"Back so soon?" Jack snickered, clapping Hiccup on the back, which earned him an annoyed eye roll.

Hybrids camped around the caves. Their dragons joined the ones that were already flying around the center pillar, leaving more room for them to settle down. Hiccup set up a blanket on the ground for me to sleep

Hiccup had given them a long speech, which impressively, had little stuttering. But still, lots of rambling. He had told them about how "this was war", blah, blah, blah. Usually, I'd be really interested in this subject, but I might have fallen asleep on Stormfly's back.

"You know it," Hiccup muttered, settling down on a patch of grass. He sighed. "Anything from the pirates?"

Jack's eyes lit up. "Yeah, actually." Hiccup sat up further, listening attentively as his snow-haired friend continued. "Alvin says he wants to meet with you tomorrow, on the shore. Alone, no dragon."

I butted in the conversation, cracking open an eye. "No way."

Hiccup sighed, again. "Astrid…"

"No. I'm coming with you."

"It's dangerous!"

"Well, no shit!" I exclaimed, sitting up fully and supported my weight by pushing my arms behind me. "You don't think I know that?"

He grumbled and put his head in his hands. "Of course you know that. I just don't want you to get hurt because of me. _Again."_ With the addition of the last word, he waved to my shoulder, the injured one, that was all bandaged up.

"Why can't you understand that I have no problem risking myself for you?" I demanded. "You've done so much for me, it's the least I can do. I'm coming, and that's final." I crossed my arms stubbornly.

Hiccup rose to his feet, arms crossed as well. "You're staying here, Astrid. As prince of Berk, I'm putting my foot down."

I could see his confidence melt away as I narrowed my eyes into a deadly glare.

Next thing we knew, we were walking out to the beach together. Toothless was hidden in the brushes a few meters back, in case we were walking right into a trap.

Hiccup exhaled loudly, looking down at me as we walked out to the fishing boat that was parked right on the beach. "Remind me to never put my foot down again."

I gave him a shit-eating grin and clasped his hand in mine. "Of course, _babe_. Anytime."

He shook his head with a lighthearted smile at the term of endearment. As we approached the side of the fishing boat, we swung our arms and hummed together. I had to remind myself that little moments with him, like these, made all of the fighting worth it.

I saw Hiccup's brow knit with concern. The boat looked to be empty, no sign of Alvin. I saw the frustration build up further in my partner as his breath quickened and his teeth grit together. But as we stood over it, looking into it, Alvin was definitely in there. He was snoring, mouth open with drool pooling out onto the wood floor, with an axe at his side and hand over his eyes.

Hiccup prodded him with his foot. "Wake up."

A disgusting snore came from his mouth that sounded like he was gargling on his own phlegm.

"Wake _up."_ Hiccup tried again, stepping on his chest and pushing on it.

Another snore, no sign of actual consciousness.

I sighed and rolled up the sleeves to the tunic I had borrowed from Hiccup. I stepped into the filthy boat, cringing as my boot was soaked in freezing water. I shook my hands out, inhaling and exhaling loudly, causing a small laugh to come from Hiccup.

I slapped his face as hard as I was physically able.

The crack of my palm against his cheek echoed off the ice walls that were a half mile up the shore. Birds flew out of their trees, taking off toward the sky, spooked by the sound that my hand had just caused.

Hiccup doubled over, laughs racking through his body, as Alvin barely woke up. His nose wrinkled and his snoring stopped, so I fled the boat as quickly as I could, practically diving overboard onto Hiccup. There was no way I wanted to be in the same little fishing boat with a conscious Alvin.

The giant pirate sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Wha-a? Who's there?"

Not to my surprise, an empty tankard was still in his grasp.

"Us, you dumbass," I snorted. Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder after he had wiped the tears of laughter away.

"Remember, _milady,"_ he murmured, a playful smile on his face. "We're trying to _befriend_ him. Not belittle."

I rolled my eyes and he kissed my forehead before stepping out in front of me to greet his "old friend".

"Alvin! You have an answer, I presume?" he spoke in his best negotiating voice. He was using his gift of persuasion.

"Aye," Alvin responded groggily. "More of a, a _term_ in which I have in order fer me teh join yer crew."

"Are we talking price?"

"Aye."

"Once we have control of the castle, we'll have the royal treasury."

"Twice my weight in cold."

"So we- wait, _what?_ Twice your weight?!" Hiccup spluttered in disbelief from what he had just heard.

"Aye. Deal or no deal."

"What about… your weight alone in gold," Hiccup breathed, still trying to comprehend how much money that would be. After all, he was a towering man that had plenty of fat to rack up the extra pounds.

"Twice my weight." Alvin

"One and a half times your weight, at the max. That's well over ten million dollars, Alvin. Take it or leave it, final answer. Ten million or nothing."

Alvin grunted, obviously wanting twice his weight. "Fine, boy. Deal."

The pirate slobbered onto his hand and held it out. Hiccup winced, obviously not want to touch whatever was on his hand. But the prince sucked it up, spat onto his hand and shook the pirate's hand.

"Yeh've got an armada."

* * *

 **Review responses:**

 **gigidragons85: In order not to spoil it, all I'm going to say is that we're not finished with either Valka or Stoick!**

 **Watching-the-Nox-Dreamer: BadAsstrid is my fave xD I'm glad you think I write her well. Writing her in character can be difficult a lot of the time.**

 **icy-rain499: Poor kids can't catch a break!**

 **Poksie: I have those stories where I freak out when they update, I'm so flattered that I'm one of yours! xD**

 **Aadya845: This is a really great suggestion, I hope what I put at the beginning is enough to remember what happened!**

 **theskrillrider: I love hearing from you guys, I want to give my thanks and answer questions so I like to respond (:**

 **BrawlerGamer: I guess we'll just have to wait and find out what happens next (;**


	26. Chapter 26

**WOWZA sorry pals for being so late! I hate to make excuses but I have been so busy. I just finished a summer class, so I'll have more time to write on my dandy computer. The updates this summer will be a bit random, because I have a few camps and a weeklong vacation (the beach!) where I won't have my computer. I'll try to write as fast as I can. We're nearing the end, too! Not too many chapters left!**

 **Chapter 25 recap:**

As the camp by the castle was attacked, most, but not all, of the hybrids managed to escape on dragons. They returned to the ice fortress, where Hiccup met with Alvin and agreed to his deal.

" _ **Yeh've got an armada."**_

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Hiccup as his hands held mine.

He sucked in a deep breath and looked around, nodding. "Yes."

His tall frame craned down to hug me. After a quick kiss, I pushed him with a smile to his place. He shook his head, grinning goofily.

"Ready, 'Legs?"

"Rolling in three… two… one…" Fishlegs counted down, peering into his camera that was set up, pointed at Hiccup.

We were filming a promotion for the rebellion. Fishlegs said he would probably be able to hack into the government's computer systems and play it on all working devices. Hiccup said that in order to really get the rebellion into a full-scale swing, more civilians would have to get on board with us. We needed more support and forces, after all.

"Hello, good citizens of Berk," Hiccup addressed in a formal voice. His shoulders were pushed back into a stiff position and his chin tilted high. I realized that he was putting on his "prince" face, what he'd been trained to do as royalty in public. "You may or may not recognize me, I am frequently around the royal castle. Some may know me as a noble's son, or the king's nephew. These are false. Whether you choose to believe me or not, the truth still stands that I am the son of Stoick and Valka Haddock."

He paused for a second, pursing his lips. "I was cast aside as an infant, for being too small and weak. My parents adopted a bigger, stronger son to rule the kingdom. This is the child you know as Eret. Ever notice how he looks nothing like his 'parents?' Yeah, that's why, they're not his parents."

Hiccup cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. But he persisted anyway. "There's another reason I was cast out as the heir. I am what's known as a hybrid. There are dragons on Berk, many dragons, discreetly hidden to stay safe. I am a dragon-human hybrid, one of many hundreds, possibly thousands, that inhabit this country. We are discriminated and treated with hate wherever we go for something we can't help, we were born with a mutation in our DNA.

"Now, it's not like we can, like, turn into dragons, or anything like that. We just have enhanced senses, and a few extra features here and there, like maybe small claws or patches of scales. We are as harmless as your friendly neighbors, and only want to live in peace."

He rambled on about a few other points, but my mind had wandered off at that point. I had the story plenty of times before. I went over in my head what I was going to say, if I was going to say anything at all.

I saw Hiccup fidget with his hands as he explained the cause of the hybrid movement. The actions toward equality. The things that you could do.

I saw his eyes travel toward me when he finished speaking. He made a small gesture with this head, and I knew what it meant. He was asking if I had anything to say. I pressed my lips together and nodded after a slight hesitation.

He introduced me as an "ally" and a "fine leader" and an "inspiration". I wanted to roll my eyes at him at how he gushed about me in a non-romantic way.

"Hi, I'm Astrid," I said, my voice coming out clear and strong. Good. "You probably know me as one of the Selected girls, the Seven in the castle, the one that did the interviews with Eret and other things. As soon as I heard about the awful treatment of these citizens of Berk, I wanted to help. I hope you can feel the same. Together, we can make change! _We,_ the _people,_ have the real power, not the government. It's millions of us against a handful of them. Help us, and you'll be a part of a historic resistance that will be retold years from now!"

I wasn't real sure on how good I was at persuading people, but I hoped that could be enough for what we were trying to do. We _needed_ people on our side, and broadcasting it on a major television station would, hopefully, give us the support we need.

We finished up on camera and darted off as soon as it turned off. My mother embraced me as I headed toward where my family was sitting.

"You would have convinced me," she murmured into my hair.

I held back a scoff. "Well, you are my mom. It's your job."

Mom pursed her lips. "Not necessarily," she said, hands on my shoulders and looking up at me, proud. She elaborated on her comment. "When I first heard that you had run away from the castle to join the 'castle attackers', I had wanted to _strangle_ you!" she laughed at that, and I joined her, knowing that she would never. "But of course, you were, and are, doing the right thing."

I don't think any amount of encouragement or support could make me feel any better. Anxiety constantly ripped my stomach apart in nervous fits. I had the same thoughts, repeating over and over, wondering if this would really work and if I was going to get my friends killed at the hands of the government.

But I didn't complain. I knew that the mere jitters that I had were nothing compared to what Hiccup must have been suffering. He was, after all, battling one of his own parents. He was hated by the entire country. There was a price on his head. Yet he put on a cool and collected face for the people that looked up to him. He was a natural leader that put the needs of his people before the needs of himself. _That_ was the kind of king that Berk needed.

I made my way to where Hiccup and Fishlegs were saddling up their dragons, storing camera equipment and different wires and cords of sorts. As Hiccup boarded Toothless, stuffing a bag filled with bread and fruits next to the camera and folders.

"Are you coming?" Hiccup asked, smiling warmly down at me. "You don't have to if you don't want, but might as well leave the option open."

"Where is it? How far away is it?"

"Another camp further east secured a tech building for us. About a two hour's flight. We're leaving in the morning. _Early_ morning." He hopped off of his dragon after checking that everything was secure. "We're packing up now so we can leave without disturbing anyone who doesn't want to wake before dawn." We chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I'll go," I said, helping him steady after leaping onto the ground. "After all, the Hybrid Prince _does_ need a bodyguard to protect him during thesever-so-dangerousus times."

He grinned and kissed me, saying, "You bet, m'lady."

After telling my parents that I was going to be leaving early morning, Hiccup and I strolled hand-in-hand through the ice caverns. The sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the turquoise ice, warming our skin. The local hybrids greeted us as we passed, thanking Hiccup for standing up for them. Some thanked me, too, but I didn't want their thanks. It was all Hiccup's doing- I wouldn't be in this if it weren't for him.

As the sun set and we made our way back to Hiccup's makeshift hut. A crew of strong, male hybrids had thrown it together within two days, and Hiccup couldn't thank them enough. The hybrids said it was the least they could do for what work the prince was doing.

A few stray people made small talk as we passed. One older woman gave me a bundle of dresses to wear. I tried to refuse to take them, but she insisted on me taking them. They must have noticed how I was wearing the same outfit for days in a row. It was such a kind gesture, I gave the woman a hug.

I was staying the night at Hiccup's, because we didn't want to disturb my family if he were to come get me up. My parents shared a glance when I had told them, making me blush. Hiccup went beet red and he stuttered quite a bit.

There wasn't much in the hut, though it had been expected because the men had finished it only this morning. There was a small bed, handcrafted out of sturdy wood, a similar wooden table, a chair, and a basket. Some wool blankets sat on the foot of the bed, and a few candles and a pack of matches was sitting on the table. Hiccup lit the candles and we removed our armor.

"Turn away," I said as I held up a soft dress that would serve as my nightgown. Hiccup's cheeks blushed pink and he did so, keeping his eyes on the opposite wall and not daring to look my way. I quickly slipped out of my dirty, sweaty clothes and threw on the dress. It was soft and fit loosely, which was pleasant.

"Uh… is it okay to turn around?" he asked in a small voice.

I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. "Yes," I answered. He turned around with a goofy smile on his face.

"Okay, now _you_ have to turn around, I have to get dressed," he said in a somewhat assertive tone. I raised an eyebrow and he added on, almost a squeak, "please?"

I turned around, foot tapping as I waited for him to change. I listened to the sound of cloth dropping onto the floor and him somehow struggling to redress himself. I heard a _thunk,_ making me turn around immediately to see what was wrong.

Nothing was wrong. Maybe, except for Hiccup's brain. He was struggling to get a shirt over his head and had accidentally bumped into the table. His arms were stretched upward, his head trapped in the opening of his shirt. His torso was free and exposed and he couldn't seem to get himself out of his tangled mess.

"What in…?" I started, unable to put my thoughts into words. "How did you…?"

Hiccup stopped thrashing. "Hey, you're supposed to be turned around!"

"Oh, please, it's not like I haven't seen you half-naked before." My silly mind drifted to when I found him in the castle dungeon with nothing but cropped pants.

I couldn't see his face, but something told me he was bright red.

When he didn't respond and kept struggling, I walked over and held him still. "You put your head through the arm sleeve, dumbass," I scolded in a joking tone. I help him get his head out (his head seemed an awful lot bigger than it used to) and his shirt on right.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "I don't recall you having trouble putting on shirts before."

"Shut up," he muttered, embarrassed. "These tunics are designed weird. I can't think straight- I'm so tired. Also, it's dark!"

"Excuses, excuses," I murmured as we stared at each other in the flickering candlelight.

His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his chest. His chin rested atop my head as we rocked back and forth. It was very nice to be back in his arms. I felt at peace, I felt at home.

Several pleasant, quiet minutes ticked by as we stood there swaying and softly humming tunes to each other. It was a moment of peace, the calm before the storm. A lot was bound to happen in the coming days, and I was glad I got to spend time with Hiccup before we were thrown into all these conflicts.

"I love you, you know that?" Hiccup's soft voice broke the silence. My heart skipped a beat and butterflies welled in my stomach. It was the best feeling in the world.

And I did know. It was quite obvious. The way he smiled at me from across a room, the way his eyes softened when he met mine, the tender, gentle touch of his fingers when they were enlaced in my hand. I did know that he loved me. I also knew that I loved him.

"I know," my voice was just above a whisper. "I would hope you know that I love you."

His grip tightened on my waist. "I know."

We then kissed. It was slow and soft, gentle and patient. We savored in each other's company, not wanting to move in fear that this magical feeling would leave. His hands traveled up to cup my face, his fingers tracing circles on my jaw that sent shivers down my spine.

My hands gripped his forearms, steadying myself because his kiss made my knees go weak. He deepened it, wanting to trace every spot on my mouth with his. He pressed me against the back wall, taking over the show. I was fine with it- I was typically the more dominant one in our relationship. I let him know early on and very frequently that I was the alpha. I was more than happy to hand over the position during these situations when he had more confidence in what he was doing.

We were breathless. We were grasping each other's clothes, wanting to feel closer and closer and closer. I felt his arms travel from my jaw down to my waist, and next thing I knew, he hoisted me up and my legs wrapped around his body.

The kiss never stopped- but there were moments in between where we gasped for breath. I heard Hiccup mutter the same words over and over. I wasn't sure if he had meant to say anything, or even mean for me to hear them, but I heard them clearly and I cherished them.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," he murmured as he pulled me closer, his strong grip locking me in place. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

I smiled against his mouth, my hands gripping and running through his soft hair that glowed red in the candlelight. Our lips never stopped moving, even as Hiccup carried me over to the bed and laid me down ever so gently. Our lips were connected, our hands exploring, our skin flushed and hot with contact.

Needless to say, we didn't get very much sleep that night.

* * *

A hot breath awoke me.

Hiccup and I were still entangled together, our unclothed limbs woven together in a puzzle of sorts. Our skin was sticky from the sweat from the previous night's events, our hair as tangled as the sheets, and a still dazed and dreamy look in our eyes.

His green eyes met mine and a blush crept into his cheeks. I leaned over (which wasn't very small, it was a terribly tiny bed) and placed a kiss on his mouth. His hand brushed my hair out of my face as he smiled onto my lips.

Another hot breath broke us apart.

We looked up to see a pair of much bigger green eyes staring us down. Toothless's nostrils were flared and his eyes wide and curious as to what we were doing. I jumped back in surprise and covered myself with the wool blanket.

"Toothless!" Hiccup complained, a crack in his voice.

I laughed. Hiccup groaned that the sun wasn't even up. I told him that meant it was time to leave. I could tell he was not a usual morning person, unlike me. We dressed (this time, though, we didn't face away from each other) and headed out within a matter of minutes and met Fishlegs in one of the open clearings next to a few tents and huts.

We were soon up in the air, the cold morning wind biting any exposed skin and chilling us with goosebumps. Hiccup offered me a thin fur cloak that one of the hybrids had given him. I didn't want to take it from him, but he insisted.

"I'm used to the cold," he reasoned. I still hesitated, but ultimately took it. I'm sure Stormfly was thankful she didn't have to hear any more of my teeth chatters.

The sun lazily crept into the sky, making the navy sky melt into a soft orange and pink. I glanced over at Hiccup. He looked relaxed, in the kind of way that you only saw when he was on top of Toothless. His hair glowed red again, but brighter this time and more orange. He looked a lot like Stoick in that moment, and I wasn't sure how to exactly feel about it.

After a long and boring flight, Fishlegs looked at a small black device, probably used for air navigation. He tapped it and shook it a few times before he called back to us and dove down through the clouds. We followed him, gripping the saddles to the point where our knuckles were white.

When we were out of the cool clouds, I saw their camp. It had the same features that I had seen with the two others, the squat wood shacks circling a camp. But in the center of this large camp, there was a building.

Not like any hybrid building. It was grey and large and looked like it had been built by the government itself. There were people, just specks from what I could see from up in the sky, mingling around the entrance. There were people carrying things to and fro, boxes of supplies such as wires and cables, or things such as fruits and bread loaves. It was definitely the most active hybrid community I had seen thus far.

When our dragons were spotted by the people, they let out screams and shouts of delight. They cheered as we lowered and landed. The local dragons had come out of their hiding to greet the three that we had.

People reached up to Hiccup and I (and Fishlegs, but not as much), some crying, some laughing, but all overjoyed we were here. I looked down at them in awe, no smile or frown, just a stare in which the emotion I couldn't pinpoint. I didn't mean to. It's just a life changing moment that I couldn't comprehend. I was so well known by these people- I was one of their heroes. I had created something for them they haven't had in such a long time. Hope.

"Queen!" a child cried out, reaching for me. His ears were oddly shaped and moved with the sound of the crowd. It must've been his dragon oddity and it was endearing. "My Queen!"

I soon noticed that the entire crowd was either chanting "queen" or "king". I looked over to Hiccup. He was holding a baby with searing yellow eyes and touching all the hands that he could. Fishlegs was just standing back, beaming at the two of us. He didn't want the credit.

As I sat, perched on the back of Stormfly, these people's hands grazing my legs and tugging at my leggings and skirt, I knew I had found my purpose. I had thought about it a lot before, but this only solidified my previous suspicions. I was meant to free these people. I was going to help them because they looked to me for something I had no idea that I could give anyone.

A smile broke out onto my face. I laughed. I thanked these people and touched their hands. I told them that it would all be alright, and I certainly hoped it would be.

I felt a hand brush mine, and I saw Hiccup walking Toothless over to me. I enclosed it in mine, and we lifted our hands high over our heads.

The hybrids lost their minds. They screamed and jumped around. It was a symbol of triumph and success, something that we would stop at nothingfor for these people. We truly were their king and their queen.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day talking to villagers. We walked into the large grey building, finding it an abandoned hospital that they used for housing and a headquarters for hybrids in need of technology.

They explained that the shacks outside were for summer nights. There was no air conditioning in the hospital, so it got very hot during the summer. It was great for shelter during the winter, but they preferred to be out closer to the stars when the sun had beat down too hard.

Hiccup and Fishlegs left the equipment in a locked room that had the most advanced computers in the entire building. Berk didn't have many computers, so it was like a gold mine to find so many in this building. It must've been a really old building, because no one had that many computers anymore, especially not hospitals. An economic crash that happened several decades ago, in the 2030's or so, caused big companies to go out of business because of the people that were no longer able to afford such luxuries.

They gave Hiccup and I a room and Fishlegs a different room. There was a large feather mattress for the both of us in a large room. It had stark white cabinets surrounding most of the walls and cold countertops that had a thick layer of dust on them. When people stayed in these rooms, it was obvious that the countertops weren't used much.

Hiccup and I spent this night actually getting some sleep. We were exhausted after getting hardly any sleep the night before, a long flight, and a day meeting with the people who practically worshiped us. The bed was comfortable and Hiccup's body was warm as it cuddled against mine. The soft snores that he sounded helped me drift off to a deep and refreshing sleep.

A knock at the door, saying breakfast was ready, woke Hiccup and I up. His arms were around my stomach and my back was against his front. We rubbed our eyes as sunlight streamed through the large window on the far wall.

Hiccup gave me a lopsided smile and a good morning kiss on the forehead. I grinned at him as I pushed the covers away.

"God, you're so beautiful."

The quiet was broken with his comment that seemed to bounce off the grey walls of this room. I stayed still for a minute, trying to think of something to say. After all, in my life, it wasn't something that I had usually heard. And being my stubborn self, I couldn't just say "thank you".

"There are plenty of girls out there who are-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"...Nowhere near how amazing you are," Hiccup finished for me. He scooted closer, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Not just on the outside. You've got a fierce and beautiful soul, Ast. You're the only girl that I care about."

I blushed. Gosh darn it, he was just too sweet. "Thank you," I murmured. It felt much better to accept the compliment than to try to come up with a way to turn it down.

As I pulled myself up from the mattress, I took his hand. "Hey, I got a fine slice of man-candy, too!"

Hiccup laughed and I helped hoist him up.

After a pleasant breakfast of eggs and and nuts and berries picked from the surrounding bushes and trees while talking with many hybrids who wanted to speak with us, Hiccup, Fishlegs, and I, accompanied by a handful of tech-savvy hybrids, made our way to the computer room. Up staircases and down winding hallways, the room seemed a lot further away than I had thought. The hallways had overhead lights to them, but it seemed that the people of this building preferred to light fire lanterns. Perhaps it used too much precious energy to keep this building lit and powered, I wasn't sure.

We stopped at the familiar dark, metal door. Once the door was unlocked and we were inside, the work started immediately. Fishlegs pulled around a chair and sat in it, booting up the computers. How they still worked and turned on properly was beyond me.

He used different cords to plug the camera into one of the computers. The video of Hiccup and I appeared on the bright screen. Fishlegs spent several minutes cutting and clipping the video, so it was shorter and there weren't as many pauses and awkward side-glances. We just needed our message out and through for a few minutes.

I watched, mesmerized by the work of this computer. To Fishlegs, it was a second nature. His fingers flew across the keyboard, the tip-taps of the keys were so fast that they all blended together.

A darker screen with green codes and jumbles of letters appeared. Fishlegs highlighted and deleted and typed his way through this screen until a small diagram appeared.

"This is it," he breathed. "These are the active television programs."

I leaned in closer, looking at the boxes and lines of the screen. "How do you know how this works?"

Fishlegs let out a sigh while scanning the diagram. "My parents were Twos worked for the government's technological programming. Both of them being hybrids, they knew they were in danger so they taught me pretty early on how to work my way around firewalls and other blocks."

I noticed very clearly how he spoke about his parents in past tense.

"Okay, here we go," Fishlegs muttered, almost inaudibly, to himself.

Click. Click. Tap tap tap. Click. Click and drag. Tap tap tap of a code. Click. Enter. Click. Tap tap tap tap, backspace, backspace, backspace.

And suddenly, on all of the little boxes on the screen, Hiccup's face appeared, his nasal voice booming through the speakers.

We were in.

* * *

 **Friendly reminder this story is rated T and I don't write explicit stuff!**

 **But if you were wondering**

 **yes, yes they did do the do**

 **aaaaaaaaaaahh**

* * *

 **Responses:**

 **Watching-the-Nox-Dreamer: Sorry for such a long** _ **weight…**_ **lol!**

 **theskrillrider: Thanks, I always love hearing your feedback!**

 **UnbreakableWarrior: What… what was that? I don't think I heard you! XD**

 **lp24: I used the putting-the-foot-down scene off of the RTTE episode Blindsided!**

 **BrawlerGamer: I loved that scene! It was just so perfect for their characters that I had to include it in here.**

 **gigidragons85:** _ **such**_ **a good scene from the RTTE writers, it really showed the stubborn nature of the characters!**

* * *

 **Ask a question or leave a review! I'll respond to you in the next chapter, or if you want immediate responses, PM me!**


	27. Chapter 26 (part 2?)

**Chapter 26.5**

 **I haven't updated since June. I'm so sorry.**

 **My mind has been blank and my life has been so crazy and exciting and stressful and surprising. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to focus on this story.**

 **I wanted to write this and include what I've written because it is the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY (or it is rn, hopefully it will be by the time it's published). I wanted to make somewhat of a celebratory post because you all have never failed to make me seem like a much better writer than I am and you consistently push me to keep writing.**

 **This story is my most successful out of anything I've written, in my opinion, and I'm so so so thankful for all of your support.**

 **And for the record, I am NOT giving up on this story!**

 **Fall sports end after tomorrow, so I'm going to have a bajillion more hours in the day to get a little more writing in. And I'm hyped.**

 **Here is a snippet of what was supposed to be the next chapter. It's a good one-third of what the whole thing is, which really shows you how productive I've been in four months. Lol.**

 **More notes at the end for the release of the next chapter...**

You'd expect the castle to be dark, with what the state the kingdom was in.

But the sun protested, and sent beams of light through the large windows and the stained glass, making the massive building colorful and inviting.

Far away from where I was, a group of men collected around an oval-shaped table as their televisions went dark again, after a long and, well, interesting message from the former prince to the kingdom.

"Stoick," one of the king's advisors mumbled, as the rest of them stared at him expectantly.

The redheaded ruler kept his eyes down, thoughts swimming through his brain, along with various _do's_ and _do not's_ and _what the hell am I going to do?'s._

Stoick lived by a code that he honored with fervor. _The good of the many outweighs the good of the few._ He had made several difficult decisions throughout his reign that did _not_ turn out in his favor. Perhaps, the listening to his advisors, rather than his gut instinct, was the cause of all the uprisings that were occurring throughout Berk. Perhaps, if he hadn't been so brainwashed into doing the right thing for everyone else, everyone else might be a bit better off.

The gruff faces of the men he's work with for years looked at him with upturned eyebrows and small scowls twitching at the corners of their mouths. They had that same expression when they voted to change the heir of Berk to Eret, the same expression when they decided it was best if hybrids were to be outlawed and hunted, and the same expression when they voted to have his son executed.

And Stoick believed it was all for the greater good. For the respectable image of a king. A king that put his family first, before the needs of the people, was in no position to rule a country that was the international power it was.

As the king of Berk drew in a long breath and let out a heavy sigh, he thought that it was a shame that it took him nineteen years to realize that he was in no shape to hold the crown.

 **Ok yeah it's not much, but it's something, right? Sorry for any mistakes, grammar, spelling, I want to get on bc I have to wake up early lmaoo**

 **Ok- I'm hoping to get the rest of this written and everything within the next month. I'm giving no exact date, because I don't want to fall through. I'm disappointed with myself for what I've done so far, so I don't want you all to be disappointed if I don't get it done in time. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things within the next two months. After all, the story is almost over!**

 **Thanks for reading all this rubbish, I hope you all understand. And again, I feel so bad, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting.**

 **See you all soon, and again, thanks for 1 year of constant support that I don't deserve.**

 **x**

 **cheddarpenguin (:**


	28. Chapter 27

**Welcome back everyone... Merry Christmas! Got a brand-spankin' new computer so it's easier to write and edit and post. Review responses and some other notes at the end if you have any interest in reading.**

The sharp clang of two swords dueling brought a smile to my face.

Hiccup rounded me, taking a swipe with his weapon down to my shins. I jumped, avoiding it, and hit him in the back with the butt of my sword, sending him stumbling to the ground.

"In this edition of 'Hiccup eats grass'," I jabbed playfully.

He pushed himself up and met my sword in the middle. He tried to kick my feet out from under me, but I side-stepped and kicked his middle. He recovered quickly, sword clashing against mine, swinging it and throwing it out of my grasp.

I sucked in a breath and pawed uselessly for the sword lying in the grass some feet away from me as Hiccup pointed his blade at my middle.

"I win?" he smirked.

My ears burned as I realized what he has done. I had no weapon and no way out. We were no strangers to the art of dueling, but I beat him every time. I refused to lose. Defeat, at the hands of Hiccup, sent my stomach into a fit of twists.

I ducked under his blade, sweeping his feet out from under him and twisting his wrist to drop the sword. Within two seconds, he was on his back, on the ground, staring helplessly unarmed as I pressed the tip of his own blade into the front of his armor.

"I didn't think so." I grinned through my teeth as he rolled his eyes. He held out a hand and I hoisted him to his feet, handing him his sword back.

"Swordplay was never my strong suit," reasoned Hiccup as I bent over to pick up my own weapon. "I'm great with a bow and arrows." He wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked through the open field, passing by hybrids training with all different kinds of weapons.

"You're just making excuses," I said. "I'm better, and we both know it."

Hiccup pressed his lips together, thinking for a moment, before sighing at me, agreeing.

We observed techniques, adding some comments here and there, to the people training in the field. After we had sent out the video of Hiccup's truths to the world, we immediately started training the hybrids in the camp for battle. Smaller villages that were posted deep in the woods had sent able-bodied men and women over to train with us, under our command. With the help of Snotlout and Fishlegs and those two stupid castle guards that I had encountered in the previous weeks, it was shaping up to be a hotspot filled with readied warriors.

We needed to be ready for everything. We didn't know how the government was going to respond to our message, and we were, admittedly, afraid. We were prepared to do whatever was necessary to gain rights and freedoms to these people, but as we were unsure what it would take, we were nervous.

The castle was silent. Not so much as a peep had come from the king or his council. The media was booming- people were up in outrage, wondering what it all meant. The slight majority of the population had believed Hiccup's accusations, thankfully. Around a hundred or so other hybrids had confessed their identities after his message, further strengthening our support. They were mostly common people, with the exception of a star celebrity, two Olympic athletes, and the billionaire CEO of a successful company, plus more. Berk was now looking for a response from the castle, and with their lack of one, people were unsure of what to think.

"Lord Haddock! Lord Haddock!" cried a voice from the side of a clearing, drawing a lot of attention. Hiccup's grip tightened on my side as he cast his attention to the man running toward us, waving a sheet of paper.

"There's news," the large hybrid soldier said, out of breath from his brief run, bending over with his hands on his knees and panting. "Lord Ingerman transmitted it from the main system. It was found in the media source that's most directly in-touch with the castle and it's officials."

Hiccup thanked him and took the paper, straightening it out and reading the heading. I stood on my toes so I could see what was written in bold letters.

 ** _HADDOCK HAVOC: WHO IS KING ANYMORE? LOCAL SOURCES SAY KING STOICK_** _ **ISN'T AS POWERFUL AS HE ONCE WAS.**_

 _ **It is believed that it is truly the council of the king that holds the most power in this country. Has Stoick gone weak? Why is he no longer in control? Answers inside!**_

Hiccup crumpled up the paper and clenched his teeth. "That coward," he growled. "He can't even stand up for himself anymore."

The next few days all happened in the same way. It consisted of us waiting for any sign or response from the castle, training the villagers, and Hiccup teaching me how to maneuver better on Stormfly. Other than that, there wasn't much else to do. Hiccup and I liked to sit on the roof of the building (climbing up from a ladder we found in next to a janitor's closet) and watch the stars at night.

My shoulder was healing wonderfully, and I barely felt a pinch when I moved it in an awkward way. I was almost able to string a bow again.

He was massaging it with ointment to keep the infection from coming back. The cool oils felt wonderful on my warm skin, with his delicate fingers pressing with perfect pressure on the spot.

We sat on our spot on the top of the building, sneaking up loads of pillows to stretch out on as we brought a basket of pastries from the kitchens (gifts from the cooks, of course. Those wonderful ladies).

As Hiccup's hand worked on smoothing my shoulder, he buried his face in the back in the crook of my neck. The breath coming out of his nose and his lips were hot on my skin. I leaned back, enjoying this moment between us.

"I love you," he murmured into my shoulder. "A lot."

I hummed as I pressed my lips together. "Thank you."

He nuzzled up further to my neck and the side of my jaw. "For what?"

I smiled as he wrapped his long arms around my torso, squeezing me comfortably. "For loving me."

He smiled into my skin. "Always."

It was a perfect moment in time that I wished I could pause and live in forever. But alas, that would not be so as I realized later that night.

When asleep in our room, snuggled tight in the quilts draped over us, I heard footsteps. It wasn't strange, for we'd been asleep a few hours and Hiccup often awoke in the middle of the night, sometimes grabbing a cup of water, so I didn't think about it much and I didn't open my eyes.

I took the opportunity to spread out on the mattress, feeling the stretch from the tips of my fingers, snaking down to my toes. As I lay flat again, I noticed one thing that wasn't right. I took my fingers and traced next to me, where he had been laying. I pressed my palms against the mattress, feeling around more.

It wasn't warm. Hiccup's part of the bed was always warm, he never left for that long. I pawed at the material longer, quickly finding a spot that was much too warm, the same time my ears caught the sound of shuffling of more than one pair of feet.

Nervous, I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust, focused on my hand. What was that feeling? It was hard to recognize at this hour. I focused on my hand, and soon realized it was wet.

The moonlight through the curtainless window made the bit of blood on my hand look black. My eyes widened when I realized it was quite fresh, and the shuffling got louder. A quiet grunt made me whip around.

Three men standing by the window, behind where I was previously facing. They were eerily quiet, two larger ones standing around a thinner one, in which I realized was Hiccup. His mouth was stuffed with a rag and taped shut, his eyes were droopy and dazed. Blood was dripping out of both his nose and on a gash on the side of his head.

I sprang up, almost unbalanced because of the sudden movement and the sudden awakening, and called out to them.

"Did you forget about me?" I challenged, causing the two to stop.

One of the bigger men's mouths crept into a grin that made my gut feel uneasy. "Don't worry darling, we were waiting like gentlemen for you to wake. It took you longer than we'd expected, given we took your beast here and have him tied up like a caged animal."

Both of them gave an evil chuckle. The one who hadn't spoken yet threw back his head with a laugh and delivered a swift kick to Hiccup's middle. The hybrid doubled over in pain, but too weak to give much more of a reaction.

"What do you want?" I demanded fiercely. "Let go of him!"

"Sorry, ma'am, against orders," the one who kicked said smugly. "No can do."

I felt stupid just standing there, talking, as these giant men beat my man to a bloody pulp. But was else was I to do? These guys had to be twice my size, I couldn't take them. I was still groggy, it was dark, and I didn't want them to beat Hiccup anymore. I needed some time to recover from the stark wakeup and set my mind to work.

"Orders?" My mind was reeling. "Wait… orders from who?"

Word has been out that Stoick wasn't speaking to any press and only let his secret cabinet near him. Valka had been missing for days, without notice from anywhere. To me, it seemed unlikely that Stoick would send people to, I suppose, weaken, and possibly, his son. He seemed too unstable.

"The Chief," was all was said.

That was definitely not Stoick's title.

A sudden alarm went off throughout the building. It was piercing and surprising and deafening. It screamed in my ears and knocked my skull, almost making me fall over. The men felt it, too, and hissed as the pressed their hands to their ears.

The red light near the door blinked. It swirled around the room, making it harder to see the situation that was playing out in front of me. Adding to the chaos. Shouts, screams, and footsteps down the hall grew increasingly louder. These hybrids- they were running from something.

One of the men threw open the window, grabbing a hold of the rope they had secured. It was a multiple story drop, no doubt it was extremely dangerous, and slung Hiccup over his shoulder. Hiccup was pale and unconscious at this point, his eyes finally shutting close. I let out a scream and threw myself toward him, but the other big bloke shoved me out of the way. I reached for him, just now realizing I was crying.

A sharp sudden pain struck the back of my head and I was gone.

A dull beep.

Another one. Again. Again. Again.

A pounding in my head. It hurt so bad, it started in the back of my skull, near my neck, and pulsed up my scalp and to my eyes and felt it in my teeth. It was hard to breathe, and it was cold. So, so cold.

The air was damp. I tried to inhale deeply, but sudden and immediate pain caused me to cease. I let out a shuddering breath and tried to open my eyes. Pain was felt at any movement in my body, so I slowly blinked them open, unsure of what was to come.

Not much to my surprise, a few seconds later, my eyes were open but I wasn't seeing anything. It was completely black. I liked to pride myself on being fearless, but as I kept consistently finding out about myself I was very much not.

Seeing Hiccup like that night scared me. Or had it been a previous night? I had no idea how to tell how long I had been knocked out.

These men scared me. The idea of Stoick, though how awful he had been to us, being out of power scared me. I knew whoever replaced him would be much worse.

This place scared me. It was so void of color, so full of nothing, that all I could see was Hiccup. All I could see were his nearly-lifeless eyes and his bloody head.

There was so much blood.

I suddenly felt pathetic. I was sitting here, wallowing in my pain, when he needed me. I needed to be better for him, he who couldn't help himself.

I'm Astrid Hofferson, I thought to myself. Hiccup needs me. I can do this on my own. I'm Astrid Hofferson.

Despite the obvious protests from my body, I persisted in lifting my body. I felt triumphant for a brief moment, soon realizing that I was strapped down, and restrained.

I couldn't help him.

I couldn't save him.

I couldn't help it when I burst into tears. I could hardly move, every movement causing me pain. I couldn't escape, I was strapped to this rough surface. I was cold and had trouble breathing. I felt tears run down my face, drool drip down my mouth, and snot dribble down my nose and run down the side of my cheek (as I couldn't move to wipe or adjust).

I sobbed. Huge, loud sobs that racked my body. I was all I could hear. The ugly gasps that emitted from my mouth, the dripping of tears onto the metal surface beneath me. I was terrified and alone.

Two things, no matter how rough my life had been, I had hardly ever felt before I had entered the Selection.

Paired with overthinking and anxiety, exhaustion and pain dulled me into an uneasy sleep. The deafening silence and lack of anything to see was driving me crazy, so I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed loudly, as to give something for me to put some concentration to.

What felt like hours later, I heard a slight shuffling. I waited, breath stilling, as I waited for it to happen again. When it did, a rush of adrenaline shot from the top of my head down to the bottoms of my feet.

"Who's there?" I wanted to call out in a strong voice, but it only came out as a hoarse whimper.

Shuffling evolved into stronger footsteps, and I tried to shrink further down, anything to get away from any unwanted intruders.

Sudden contact with my forehead made me flinch. My breath shook as a large finger trailed my forehead down my cheek, stopping at my chin as the figure walked alongside my bed. There was limited light in the room at this point, so I could make out the looming figure that was this man.

"What the hell do you want from me?" I growled lowly.

A match was struck and a candle was lit. I could see the scar-ridden face of this terrible man. His black hair knotted into dreadlocks atop his head, as well as sprouting from his chin. His eyes were evil and frightened me when he bent further down with a snarling, wicked grin.

"Fear."

I don't remember much of what happened. I screamed a lot. A lot. My throat was raw and sore and my head pounded painfully. I thrashed and kicked and shook. He didn't violate me, but I was so out of it, I didn't know what was happening.

 _I am Drago_ , he had said. _I killed Stoick. I killed Hiccup. I'm going to kill you._

He, fortunately enough, didn't end up killing me. He had said something else, and for a long time, too. His sentences drawled on and his eyes grew angrier, and he ended up pulling a knife on me. He kept asking me questions, but I was screaming and I couldn't hear anything else. I could hardly hear at all. I was slashed a few times, and I felt brief, hot pain. Once across my face. Once on my shoulder. Once on my arm.

He left and I was still on the metal table, stomach shouting for food, throat screaming for water, and my limbs begging for relief. It was when the door opened again, shuffling ensuing, when I started screaming and thrashing again.

Voices had to calm me down, coaxing me down. Familiar voices. Friendly voices.

"Astrid!" cried Ruffnut. "We're here, calm down!"

Hearing Ruffnut's voice stilled me. I then heard Tuffnut's, then Fishlegs's. A knife cut through the thick restraints, freeing my body. I fell off the table, Fishlegs barely catching me. My legs were weak, but I insisted on walking.

"What… happened? Where's Hiccup?" I questioned immediately as I was stable and leaning on the large hybrid. "He said he killed him! And Stoick! Are they dead?"

"Your face!" Fishlegs gasped. I brushed my fingers and felt hot blood coming from the slash. I didn't feel anything, though, so I merely shook my head and let him speak. "The camp was raided," he continued, and I nearly cried out. "Luckily, though, with all of our training, we defeated them! It wasn't until after we realized you two had been taken, though. We found you quickly, they wanted you just as a mental game for Hiccup. We don't know where he is. We can assure you, he was fibbing about them being dead. Both are certainly alive."

I stumbled. Though I was somewhat relieved he was alive, my brain still went haywire. This was all for Hiccup. My pain was used to cause him more pain. I lifted my head up and tried to resist the hot searing sensation throughout each inch of my body. I had to be strong, so he could be strong. They couldn't break me.

"Who… who is _they_?" I still believed it could not have been Stoick to have done this. I didn't feel it in my heart.

"Drago, Bludvist? I believe?" The giant blond knit his eyebrows together in thought. "Correct me if I'm completely wrong, but I believe he was Stoick's opposer on the Council. His most frequent debater and challenger. Stoick kept him on, though, so he'd have the views from all different kinds of people in the country."

"What's our plan? Where's Stoick? Where's Hiccup?" I pressed as they helped me up a winding stone staircase.

"Stoick- we don't know. Sources have been telling us that Drago has been using Stoick as his puppet this whole time. I don't believe that's entirely true, but it's what has been going around. We think Hiccup is in the castle somewhere, though we are not sure. We are going to defeat him, Drago, we know that for sure. More uprisings have arisen than ever, in this short amount of time. Hybrids have gathered in the masses." Fishlegs fished his hand to the pocket of his trousers, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it cautiously, careful not to rip or tear any part of it.

On the front were the figures of me and Hiccup. A drawing, obviously, incredibly realistic for something that looked like a quick sketch. We stood tall and we looked angry, our eyes narrowed, hands intertwined, and weapons in our free hands.

REBEL, the giant word underneath read, calling people to take action. Some writing below that was written as well, detailing on how we were captured and that the government was being taken over. I looked at my face, strong and determined, and I felt inspired. I guess it sounded cheesy, perhaps, maybe even narcissistic, being inspired by myself- but it didn't feel like me. That wasn't me on the front. That was hybrid-ally-warrior Astrid. The face of a new rebellion.

To me, though, I was just Astrid. A poor girl that lived in a shack and wore rags.

"People are angry," Fishlegs continued. "We've had an influx of camp recruitments, along with numbers in new militias and standing battle groups. More than half the country is turning on the king. Er, rather, this Drago guy."

I shook my head, pausing in my slow incline up the stairs. "Wait, wait, when did this all happen? How long have I been here?"

Fishlegs sighed. "Three days. It's not a lot, but the rebellion is spreading like wildfire. With the amount of Berkians joining the movement and the number of people leaving their positions in the royal military and the castle jobs, we're starting to expect victory."

"Three days?" I shrieked.

"Hey, sister, we sent out troops looking after you within an hour after the battle at the camp ending," Tuffnut retorted. "We've been searching for you non-stop."

We reached the door and Ruffnut peered out the small opening, ushering us through the door she opened. It was dark and cold out, colder than how the weather usually was on the west coast, the wind biting into my bare skin. I soon realized one of the reasons I was cold was because I was practically dressed in a burlap sack. The rags I was dressed in came only to my biceps. Tough they were made out of thick material, they were scratchy and hung off of my body. The pants cut off mid-calf, making me look altogether a terrible mess.

As they lead me through the door, they turned me to the left. There I saw a mass of people spread out along the hills of the castle grounds, armed with weapons, shields, and leather armor. Some wore helmets, some even dawned entire metal knight's armor, while some were stanced with only a staff and the rags on their back.

"What's this?" was all I could say, rendered speechless by what had to be thousands of people before me.

"This," Fishlegs said, sweeping his hand to gesture at the dark figures. "Is our plan. This is our army."

 **It took me literally two days to write most of this, but like, 2 months to actually start writing and to get the motivation to think about what to write. Sorryyyy.**

 **But we're almost done! Yay.**

 **Please don't judge my skills thus far. This is nearly unedited, and something to get through. If you can't tell, I'm getting tired. U_u But of course, I'm going to finish out for all of u. Hearts! 3**

 **Don't expect the next chapter to take as long, but don't be expecting anything awful soon!**

 **Review Responses:**

 **DeathBerryHime- I have never heard of the Red Queen before! Is it similar to the Selection? Sounds interesting! I did use the Selection as my original inspiration but added my own odd twist to it. Thank you for reviewing :-)**

 **Insanity Studios Ink- if that ain't me i don't know what is**

 **Theskrillrider- thank you *heart***

 **Kaylee- Thank you! How kind. I find it funny, I originally started writing this story (granted… in middle school a long time ago, not college xD) to procrastinate papers. I appreciate it :-)**

 **twilight sparkle- thank u thank y! We shall see about the ending… dun dun dun… mwahahaha**

 **Guest- honestly same tbh**

 **BrawlerGamer- Aw, thanks! Yeah, Stoick is just tryna do the right thing for the people, little does he know, it's not working so well. I totally agree with that, too, that they don't deserve to rule. Bro can't make up his mind, now we got this to deal with smh.**

 **JasmineDragon22- ahh sorry for taking so long! Not gonna lie, I had to go back and reread the end of the last chapter to find out where I left off… haha.**

 **gigidragons85- thank you, and I'm fine! Sorry i had you worried there. Always love your input :-)**

 **Review/comment, encouragement and positivity are what helps me write more!**


End file.
